Early voting trends in Travis County are showing record-breaking numbers, according to County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir. “Travis County had really good turnout,” DeBeauvoir told Community Impact Newspaper on March 5. “We’ve broken the levels of the Presidential election turnout from previous years. I don’t know why but I can tell you walking around the field that there is an excitement about voting but also an energized feeling that we need do something about the problem.” Early voting for the Primary election, which began Feb. 20 and ran through March 2, showed a 11.36 percent overall turnout. DeBeauvoir is predicting a 20 percent overall turnout between both the Democratic and Republican primary.

She said some of the driving force at the polls have been about gun control and some of the local races on the democratic side such as the District 47 state representative race. “The Democratic primary turnout is healthy and was about what we thought,” DeBeauvoir said. “The Republican primary is a lot less than what we were anticipating. But overall we are right on prediction for what we thought was going to be a 20 percent turnout overall.” The county’s Democratic party numbers recorded about 8.45 percent, or 62,152 voters, at the polls during early voting. The county’s Republican party reported about 2.9 percent, or 21,349 voters, at the polls during early voting. “I think we are going to see another 80,000 to 85,000 people turn out on Election Day,” DeBeauvoir said. “It’s going to be a beautiful day.” Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters can can cast a ballot anywhere in Travis County as long as they are registered to vote. Voters can also monitor Election Day traffic at the polls on the Vote Travis website.