With Nearly 7 Million Votes, Texas (Still) Leads The Way In Early Voting

According to Dave Wasserman, an editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that specializes in election analytics, on Sunday Texas officially hit 80% of its 2016 total turnout as residents statewide flooded the polls.

According to the Associated Press, Texans have already submitted almost 7 million votes, more than any other U.S. state.

With more than a week left of early voting days, the Lone Star State seems well poised to break its 2016 record of 8.9 million ballots cast.

Texas has been boosted by record voter registrations and turnout across major metro areas, the state’s Rio Grande Valley near the border with Mexico and especially among young voters.

Wasserman said Texas also appears to be home to the first U.S. county to surpass its 2016 voter totals thanks to Hays County, a jurisdiction just south of Austin that on  Sunday counted 73,277 votes so far compared to 72,164 total votes in 2016.