As election day arrives, nearly 40,000 Brazos Valley voters have cast their ballots.
In an election cycle that has seen shakeups from the top of both parties’ ballots, more Texans than have used early voting opportunities across Brazos County. In Texas alone, 5,370,515 mail-in and early in-person votes have already been cast. In the 2020 general election, data sourced from TargetSmart reported 9,615,419 early votes and mail-in votes by the end of the election.
Out of the 133,382 registered voters in Brazos County, those that have already voted represent nearly a third of total voters. This trend is represented across Texas, with the total number of registered voters clocking in at 18.6 million. With the current number of early votes cast, 28.8% of all votes have already been cast in the state.
The number of registered voters in Texas has increased by 1 million since 2022, according to a press release from Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. According to the release, this increase has been in line with the state’s increasing population and interest surrounding this year’s presidential election.
The two most demographically similar metropolitan areas to Brazos County, the Lubbock and Waco regions, have major universities as well, representing a similar demographic spread to College Station. Similar trends across those areas have also been reported, with over 42,000 votes being cast in McLennan County.
Lubbock County, which contains Texas Tech, has had 31% of its registered voters visiting the polls in early voting. This number represents the highest percentage of early voting turnout since 2004, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Nationwide, early voting numbers have been down compared to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged voters to come to the ballot box before Election Day. According to data sourced from CNN, Texas has 21.3% fewer early votes cast compared to the same time period four years ago.
On Election Day, voters registered in Brazos County can vote at any listed Election Day voting center. All 28 centers around the county are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone in line at the center by 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballot.
A sample ballot for Brazos County can be found on the Brazos Votes webpage. The special election section contains two propositions, both addressing the addition of a stock law to fence in cattle and other animals.
Brazos County uses Verity Duo as the ballot marking device to count votes. Once voters finish voting on the electronic device, they must scan the ballot in a separate device to cast their ballot. If voters leave without scanning the ballot, their vote will not be counted and they will not be allowed back into the voting center.
Brazos Votes is encouraging voters to use its website to answer any questions they may have. For the upcoming election, any questions not answered via the webpage may be addressed to the elections coordinator, Krystal Ocon.
