A total of 21,452 Montgomery County residents participated in early voting for the July 14 runoff election, according to unofficial voting totals recorded by the office of Elections Administrator Suzie Harvey.
Nearly 16,000 Republicans and more than 5,500 Democrats cast ballots during the 10-day early voting period, which ran from June 29-July 2 and July 5-10. More than half of all votes in both party primaries were recorded over the first four days of early voting leading into the Independence Day holiday weekend, bolstered by the majority of absentee ballots that were counted June 29. By the halfway point of early voting, just over 54% of total votes had been cast.
Republicans and Democrats appeared to utilize absentee ballots at differing rates in this year's runoff. While the majority of voters in both party primaries turned out in person during early voting, just over 28% of Republicans submitted absentee ballots compared with nearly 44% of Democrats. Just under three-quarters of all absentee ballots from both parties were recorded on the first day of early voting, while in-person votes remained relatively steady over the 10-day period before peaking July 10.
Overall early voting totals for both parties in this summer's runoff election also surpassed the figures recorded in the 2018 and 2016 spring runoffs—although this year's voting period is not directly comparable to past elections. In addition to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, other changes affecting the 2020 runoff include an extended voting period, differing contested races, and an increased county population and registered voter pool.
