Updated 9 a.m. March 2

Voter turnout surged among Democratic primary voters during the early voting period of March 2020 primary elections in Harris County, according to tallies from the Harris County Clerk's Office. A total of 139,533 Democrats cast ballots, compared to 87,916 in 2018 primaries and 85,816 in 2016 primaries.

Turnout started strong among both Democrats and Republicans, but Republican turnout would end up finishing lower than it did in 2016, when Donald Trump was running to be the Republican nominee against Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, among others. A total of 104,909 Republican voters cast ballots, compared to 131,145 in the 2016 primaries.


In primary elections, Texas voters who register with either the Democratic or Republican party can choose which candidates they think should represent that party on ballots during the November general election, including in the race for U.S. president, the U.S. senator seat occupied by Sen. John Cornyn and a number of other national, state and local races. Democratic turnout in the 2016 primary reached 227,280 votes by the end of the election, falling well short of Republican turnout, which clocked in at 329,768, according to voting archives.


The total number of registered voters in Harris County is estimated at 2,370,540, up from 2,249,591 during the March 2018 primaries and from 2,081,781 in the 2016 primaries.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on election day, March 3.