Hays County voters have been turning out in record numbers to cast early and mail-in ballots for the Nov. 6 general election, according to early returns.
Six days into early voting, with five days to go, more than 21,000 residents voted at polling locations throughout the county through Oct. 28. More than 3,800 people mailed in their ballots over the same time span.
"In 2008, we had 40,000 early votes and a 60,000 grand total, so two-thirds of voters voted early," Hays County Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan said Oct. 29. "I think it's going to be that high or higher because we usually have more people voting in the last week than we do in the first week."
One reason for the increase in early voting comes down to convenience, she said. Because the population of Hays County surpassed 120,000 in the 2010 census, federal law requires election officials to offer more locations for residents to cast ballots.
