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Early voting turnout in Travis County could surpass 50% of registered voters

On the final day of early voting, eight polling places in Travis County will be open until 10 p.m. More than 50% of voters may have cast their ballots before early voting ends, according to the Travis County Voter Registrar.

By the end of the day Thursday, more than 431,000 voters in Travis County had cast ballots, with hundreds of thousands more expected Tuesday.

On Friday, the wait to vote at the Ben Hur Shriner’s Temple on West Anderson Lane lasted just a few minutes during lunch.

“Oh, it was easy. Yes. The line moved quickly,” said Rip Sutton, who wanted to vote Thursday but showed up Friday instead. “This is an important year for the presidential elections. A lot of people have opinions.” I said to Sutton. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. There is a big turnout,” he replied.

That’s what brought first-time voter Scout Goldsmith to the polls. She is 18 years old. “I’ve been waiting to vote since I was 10 and I watched Hillary Clinton lose and my life has been overshadowed by politics ever since,” she said.

Nationwide, 41 million members of Gen Z — currently defined as people between the ages of 16 and 27 — are eligible to vote. One survey found that 82 percent were motivated to vote in this election, making Goldsmith’s vote part of a potentially very powerful group.

“Do you see a lot of enthusiasm in people your age?” I asked her. “Yes, but I don’t know how much of that is just my social circle. I spend time with a lot of other people who feel pretty much the same way I do, and we’re all excited to vote,” she said.

ALSO| Texas’ suburban counties are seeing a jump in turnout as early voting nears its end

In Travis County, they are part of what is expected to be more than 50% of Travis County voters who have cast ballots before early voting ends at 10 p.m. That’s according to Travis County Voter Registrar Bruce Elfant, who posted a graph on social media Friday morning. media, showing that turnout since 2008 is the highest in 2016 and 2020.

“Today was the last day. So I wanted to take advantage of that and it is important for me to vote for our future, for the future of my children,” Oltea Heresu said as she left the parking lot.

City council candidate Mike Siegel was one of a few candidates greeting people at the Ben Hur location. He says early voters will already have made up their minds when they get here. “The people who come in want to get their business done. They already know who they are voting for and why, and they don’t really want to talk to us,” he said.

There will be eight voting locations in Travis County open until 10 p.m. Visit votetravis.gov to find one near you.

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