Votes cast so far in Texas have surpassed all of the votes cast during the 2016 Election.
Texas has a total of 9,009,850 votes so far in the 2020 presidential election Thursday, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.
In the 2016 presidential election, 8,969,226 votes were cast through early voting and Election Day across the state of Texas.
In Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties, early voting numbers have surpassed those in 2016.
More than 83 million people have already voted in the 2020 election with four days until Election Day, continuing to shatter early voting records.
Normally a reliably red state, Texas is seen as being in play this year in the race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Election Day in 2016 was on Tuesday, Nov. 8 and early voting ended on Nov. 4. There were 12 days of early voting.
This year there have been 18 days of early voting, which ends Friday. The early voting period was extended to keep people better socially-distanced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Here's a breakdown of the early voting numbers as of Thursday, Oct. 29 compared to votes cast during early voting through Nov. 4, 2016, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
Dallas County
Dallas County registered voters in 2020: 1,398,469
Registered voters in 2016: 1,287,171
Estimated population as of 2019: 2,635,516
Total 2016 in-person early voting: 512,168 or 39.79%
Total 2020 in-person early voting as of Thursday: 675,877 or 48.33%
Mail-in early voting in 2016: 37,475
Mail-in early voting so far in 2020: 68,922
Total cumulative early voting in 2016: 549,643 or 42.70%
Total cumulative early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 744,799 or 53.26%
Tarrant County
Tarrant County registered voters in 2020: 1,212,524
Registered voters in 2016: 1,077,618
Estimated population as of 2019: 2,102,515
Total in-person early voting in 2016: 480,936 or 44.63%
Total in-person early voting as of Thursday: 616,189 or 50.82%
Mail-in early voting in 2016: 34,294
Mail-in early voting as of Thursday: 61,594
Total cumulative early voting in 2016: 515,230 or 47.81%
Total cumulative early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 677,783 or 55.9%
Collin County
Collin County registered voters in 2020: 648,670
Registered voters in 2016: 536,915
Estimated population as of 2019: 1,034,730
Total in-person early voting in 2016: 289,561 or 53.93%
Total in-person early voting as of Thursday: 395,759 or 61.01%
Mail-in early voting 2016: 12,378
Mail-in early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 28,092
Total cumulative early in 2016: 301,939 or 56.24%
Total cumulative early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 423,855 or 65.34%
Denton County
Denton County registered voters in 2020: 565,089
Registered voters in 2016: 464,829
Estimated population as of 2019: 887,207
Total in-person early voting in 2016: 228,928 or 49.25%
Total in-person early voting as of Thursday: 331,301 or 58.63%
Mail-in early voting in 2016: 11,026
Mail-in early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 27,127
Cumulative early voting in 2016: 239,954 or 51.62%
Total cumulative early voting in 2020 as of Thursday: 358,428 or 63.43%
Population growth and registered voters
In the years since the 2016 election, each of these four counties has increased their population, according to estimates from the U.S. Census. The most recent population data is from 2019.
At the same time, all four counties have added registered voters as well.
Denton and Collin counties have seen the largest population growth and the greatest increase in registered voters.
Dallas County has actually seen smaller population growth and fewer new registered voters compared to Tarrant County.
