HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Halfway through the early voting period, records show that voter enthusiasm is high in Harris County’s suburban areas.
Almost 830,000 in-person and mail ballots were cast during the first eight days of Harris County’s early voting period, according to the county clerk’s office. So far, records show the county’s two busiest polling places are located in the suburbs of Cypress.
More than 26,000 residents have cast in-person ballots at the Richard and Meg Weekley Community Center on Greenhouse Road in Cypress. About 6 miles away, more than 24,000 residents have cast ballots at the Juergens Hall Community Center on Hempstead Road.
KHOU 11 political analyst Brandon Rottinghaus explains the big early vote likely reflects the area’s growing population.
“You’ve got a lot of people moving there, you’ve got more people who are registered,” he said. “You’ve also got pretty competitive races at the state and national level, that means you’re going to have more people out at the polls."
According to Rottinghaus, high voter turnout in suburban areas could also result from political campaign investment.
“I really think it’s a testament of people’s desire to have their civic voice heard and the organizations that are spending a lot of time and money trying to get out the suburban vote,” he said.
With just one week to the general election, Rottinghaus added that it’s difficult to know if Cypress’s large early vote will give any particular candidate an edge.
“I don't see any one major advantage for a particular party or the another even if suburbs tend to trend red,” he said “We have a lot of people voting right now who normally don’t so in a presidential year it's really hard to know. More people voting is good, so getting those votes out is really the most important thing at this point.”