More than a third of Denton County registered voters have cast ballots so far in the Nov. 3 election.
The first seven days of early voting saw 185,825 ballots cast in person, according to the latest figures from Denton County election officials. That represents nearly 33% of the 565,671 registered voters in Denton County.
"It's turning out to be a very popular election," Denton County Elections Administrator Frank Phillips told county commissioners at their meeting Oct. 20. The number of people who have voted early so far "translates to about 40 voters per minute," Phillips said.
The number of early votes cast so far also surpasses the 129,155 early votes cast in Denton County during the same time frame in the 2016 presidential election, according to the county.
Phillips said a breakdown of early voters by age for this election also shows that older voters are turning out in greater numbers than younger ones.
"If you take the age groups of 18 to 40, and compare that to the age groups of 41 to 70, then 41- to 70-year-olds are outvoting the 18- to 40-year-olds by a two-to-one ratio," Phillips said.
The county has also received 19,919 completed mail-in ballots through Oct. 19 for this year's election. That represents about 58% of the 34,267 mail-in ballots requested so far from eligible voters.
Voters eligible for mail-in ballots have until Oct. 23 to apply for one. Those ballots can be returned in person at a portable building in the parking lot of the elections administration building at 701 Kimberly Drive in Denton. Mail-in ballots can also be returned by mail; they must be postmarked by 7 p.m. Nov. 3 and received by no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 4.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30. Voters in Denton County may cast a ballot at any voting center in the county during early voting but must vote at their assigned precinct on Election Day. For a list of locations, visit www.votedenton.com/upcoming-election-information.
Polls will be open for early voting during the following times.
- Oct. 20-24: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Oct. 25: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Oct. 26-30: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
For other Denton County election information, including a list of candidates on the ballot and Q&A's for local candidates, visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide.
