Harris Co. ends early voting with record 1.43M ballots cast

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County ended the early voting period in this high-stakes election with 1.43 million ballots cast, setting a benchmark likely difficult to replicate in future elections.

On Friday, the county added 90,306 votes to the already astronomical tally.

On Thursday night, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins said the county already surpassed the entire voter turnout from 2016.

By the end of the night Friday, a total of 1,435,221 votes were cast in the early vote period that began all the way back on Oct. 13.

There have been several factors to the brisk pacing of Harris County's unprecedented numbers this election.

Aside from the high stakes race for the White House, the county has offered a handful of accessible methods to vote, including in-person, drive-thru, and mail-in ballot dropoffs, as well as 122 polling locations. The county also held a 24-hour vote day.

It also helped that the pandemic pushed the state to extend the early vote period.

Harris County's numbers certainly reflected the all-time turnout numbers seen in Texas. With ballots cast through this past Monday, Oct. 26, Texas boasted an all-time early voting turnout.

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