With the first week of early voting ahead of the Super Tuesday primary in the books, one party’s supporters are outpacing the other at the polls.
The latest early voting data from the El Paso County Elections Department shows that Democratic voters are turning out in much larger numbers than Republicans ahead of the March 3 primary. As of Saturday, Feb. 21, just over 14,700 Democratic ballots have been cast compared to just under 5,300 Republican ballots.
A sign indicates an early polling station for the recent midterm elections inside Bassett Place.
Here’s a breakdown of how those ballots are coming in:
In-person Democratic ballots: 13,087
Mail-in Democratic ballots returned: 1,620
In-person Republican ballots: 4,959
Mail-in Republican ballots returned: 304
There are currently 523,393 registered voters in El Paso County — the nearly 20,000 ballots cast so far represent about 3.8% of the county’s total voters.
The El Paso County Elections Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Democrats in El Paso outnumber Republicans, the local trend follows one being seen across the state.
The latest data from VoteHub shows that nearly 544,900 ballots have already been cast in the Democratic primary, compared to nearly 441,000 in the Republican primary. Both parties, however, are turning out in greater numbers than in the 2022 primary.
More: Key candidates, voting dates, what’s at stake in El Paso’s 2026 election
The Super Tuesday primary in Texas represents a number of key races important to both parties.
A contentious battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas is currently underway, with state Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett duking it out on the Democratic ticket, while incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn fends off a challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton on the Republican side. The hope of turning the state’s U.S. Senate seat blue is likely contributing to the influx of Democratic voters across the state.
While neither party faces a serious primary challenger in the governor’s race, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa’s bid to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott is also energizing Democratic voters across the state.
Additionally, with open primary elections in Texas allowing voters from either party to vote in the primary of their choice, there could be instances of Republicans casting Democratic ballots in order to boost weaker candidates into the Nov. 3 General Election.
The early voting period ends Friday, Feb. 27, with Election Day the following Tuesday, March 3.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso early voting: Dems outpacing Republicans ahead of Super Tuesday