Record Early Voting in El Paso County Reflects Familiar Demographics

More than 164,000 El Paso County residents cast ballots during early voting, shattering the previous midterm record and setting the stage for Tuesday's general election, according to El Paso Matters.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. at more than 120 vote centers throughout El Paso County. Early voting results will be released at 7 p.m., with Election Day results rolling in throughout the night.

The early voting turnout was 18% higher than the previous record of 139,000 set during the 2018 midterm election, when Beto O'Rourke ran as the Democratic nominee for Senate. This year's total is 60% higher than the 2022 midterm turnout of 102,500. An Election Day turnout of 40,000 would push El Paso County past its all-time midterm record of 203,000, set in 2018. That year saw 65,000 Election Day votes; 2022 had 62,000.

More than 30% of El Paso County's nearly 541,000 registered voters cast early ballots—the lowest rate among Texas' 10 most populous counties, a pattern consistent with statewide elections. Among registered voters 65 and older, nearly half cast early ballots. In younger age groups, participation dropped sharply: fewer than one in five registered voters under 30 voted early.

The early voting electorate reflected historical patterns, though at much larger scale. Women made up 55% of early voters despite comprising only 51% of registered voters. Among voters ages 18-29, women accounted for 61% of early votes cast by that group. Two-thirds of all early voters were 45 or older.

A significant factor in the turnout surge was participation from voters who sat out recent elections. One in six early voters did not cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election. More than one-third skipped the 2022 midterm.

Democrats entered Election Day with a strong advantage. Among the 47% of early voters who participated in the March primary elections, Democrats held a 3-to-1 advantage—a margin exceeding 38,000 votes. In the 2018 and 2022 midterms, every Democratic candidate on the countywide ballot won at least 58% of the vote.