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Massive numbers of Texas voters have reportedly participated in early voting for next week's runoff elections, despite cases of COVID-19 continuing to skyrocket in the state.
Around 800,000 Texans had taken part in early voting at a "historic pace" through Wednesday, according to The Dallas Morning News. The total includes more than 482,000 voters who took part in Democratic primary runoff elections and 316,500 who voted in Republican runoffs.
A similarly-high Democratic turnout in November could possibly lead to Republicans losing control of the state House and upend national elections like the race for president, where President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have been deadlocked in recent state polls. Turnout appears to have increased in the runoffs despite COVID-19 cases surging, which many had thought would dampen turnout.
"We're talking about extremely high turnout for a runoff," David de la Fuente, a senior political analyst at the centrist think tank Third Way, told the paper. "It has to be anger at Donald Trump and maybe state Republicans."
Turnout could also be increased due to a high-profile Democratic primary runoff for a U.S. Senate seat, which sees Texas State Representative Royce West compete with former Air Force helicopter pilot Mary "MJ" Hegar for the chance to take on Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in November.
Texas Democrats have expressed concern that the pandemic could cause voter suppression by making it a health hazard to go to polling places. Legal efforts that were launched to expand voting by mail in response have so far come up short due to opposition by state Republicans.
Mail-in voting has recently become a heated political issue in Texas and nationally, with some Republicans—including the president—railing against the practice, despite it previously taking place for decades with little controversy or evidence that it is rife with fraud or favors any particular political party.
Texas does allow mail-in ballots under strict conditions. Current efforts to expand the practice, which remain stalled in appeals court after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to make an emergency ruling, would allow all voters concerned about the virus to vote without being physically present at polling stations.
"Texas Republicans like Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and the Republican Texas Supreme Court are forcing most Texans under the age of 65 to vote in person in the middle of a global pandemic," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
"This is the latest Republican attempt to stop Texans from exercising their right to vote and is not going to work," he added. "It has now become our duty to go vote because our very lives might very well depend on it."
Early voting in the Texas runoffs began on Monday and will conclude on Friday. Additional ballots will be tallied after Election Day, which is set for next Tuesday.
Newsweek reached out to the Texas Secretary of State's Elections Division for comment.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more