Across the state this election cycle we’ve already seen increases in the number of early votes cast, and that’s held true for large swaths of West Texas, too.
Counties from the Big Bend borderlands to the Permian Basin saw an increase in the number of votes cast on the first day of early voting compared to the 2012 presidential election.
Jeff Davis County, home to the small towns of Fort Davis and Valentine, saw its biggest first day of early voting in at least the past two presidential elections with 167 votes cast.
Ector County, home to Odessa, reported an increase of 14% compared to 2012, and neighboring Midland County saw an increase of 50%.
The huge expanse of Brewster County includes the towns of Alpine, Terlingua, Marathon and Big Bend National Park. It saw a 36% increase in first-day early voting from four years ago.
It’s not clear if early voting has jumped in Presidio County, but early voters there have at least kept officials busy enough to not have time to dig up the numbers from past elections.