Early Voting in Texas is over (it ended October 31, 2008), and it is absolutely astounding how many people took advantage of the opportunity. And it is astounding. In Harris County, as of October 30th (the most recent day for stats), 33.17% of registered voters had already voted. In Dallas county, 36.98% have voted. 42.28% have voted in Tarrant County. Take a look at the stats; they’re amazing, especially when you think of the fact that, according to the US Census Bureau, turnout nationally has generally been below lower than 60% for a presidential election.
And early voting is up across the nation, not just Texas. This site has some juicy details.
Of course, all this early voting could simply be the same people who would normally vote on election day, just getting it done, and turnout could be low on election day. But I doubt it; I think it’s going to set a recent-history record. (Yeah, yeah, I know that’s a clunky construction…)
Point is: if you didn’t take the opportunity to vote early, then you better vote (if you’re eligible, of course) on Tuesday!
