Though Hopkins County voters set a fast pace in the first four days of early voting, it was slowed as the number of in-person ballots cast dipped this week, but the county is still nearing a record early turnout with 8,040 total votes.
On Monday, 862 people voted, and on Tuesday, 771 placed their votes. A total of 643 people cast their ballots Wednesday, and on Thursday, 593 people voted. Friday’s vote count was not available by press time Friday and will be published in the Wednesday, Oct. 28 edition.
With 23,954 registered voters, another record-high, according to the Texas Secretary of State, the county’s early voting turnout rate is currently 33.56%. For comparison, the 2016 election’s early rate was 38.66% with 8,696 voters, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s records dating back to 1988. The highest early rate was 42.07% in the 2004 general election in which George W. Bush and John Kerry ran for president.
So far, 7,080 Hopkins County voters have cast their ballots in person while 960 mail-in ballots have been counted. The county only needs 656 votes to break the early voting record, but breaking any total turnout record will likely hinge on Election Day numbers. While 8,696 voters participated in early voting in the 2016 election, an additional 4,837 went to the polls on Election Day for the record of 13,533 total votes.
The county has extended voting hours this weekend with the polls open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday of next week will have extended voting hours of 7 a.m.-7 p.m. All early voting is conducted at the ROC, 115 Putman St. For more information, go to hopkinscountytx.org or call 904-438-4074.
—Reporter Taylor Nye contributed to this report.