First day of early voting sees turnout spike

Early voting in Harris County began with a 56 percent spike in turnout compared to the 2016 primaries, despite warnings from political experts that the still-fluid Democratic presidential race would keep some voters home as they await other states’ primary results.

More than 12,200 people voted at the 52 polling sites across the county, blowing past turnout from recent election cycles and narrowly outpacing the first day of the 2008 contest. The Harris County Clerk’s Office also received 24,461 mail ballots through Tuesday, compared with 10,312 on the first day of early voting in 2018 and 14,516 in 2016.

Many who turned out Tuesday described themselves as frequent voters who study candidates up and down the ballot and do not always cast straight-ticket votes, an option that lawmakers eliminated starting this year. That includes West University resident Susan Darrow, who said she views 2020 as “the most important election of our lifetime.”

“I care deeply about what happens in our national government because there are a lot of things that I hope are changed in the upcoming election,” Darrow said before casting her ballot at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Montrose. “But there are some really good candidates running locally. And one of the things I know is that especially in aprimary, turnout is really low, so your vote really counts.”

The high turnout in Harris County appeared to match that of some other populous Texas counties; most would not post final numbers until Wednesday morning, but early figures generally signaled higher turnout than in 2016.

Meanwhile, problems at polling sites appeared to be minimal on Day One. Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonprofit that runs a nonpartisan voter protection program, said polling place monitors had not reported any widespread issues.

One polling site in the Dallas-area city of Denton had some machine issues that delayed its opening time, and a Houston-area site in the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood had some traffic issues as voters entered and exited, he said.

“The rest has been pretty run of the mill — people answering basic voting questions, complaints about too many campaign signs at certain sites,” Gutierrez said.

The 2020 primaries also mark the first cycle in Harris County when the Democratic and Republican primaries are sharing polling locations. County Clerk Diane Trautman said she hoped the consolidated voting sites would “eliminate confusion” from prior elections, when some voters might show up at the wrong poll.

Some Democrats may be staying away from the polls as they hold out for the results of upcoming primaries in Nevada on Saturday and South Carolina on Feb. 29, said Re-née Cross, senior director of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.

Primary outcomes have the potential to upend the dynamics of a race. After the New Hampshire primary last week, three candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado and businessman Andrew Yang — dropped out.

“Given the volatility of this primary for the Democrats, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a much higher than usual strategic voter turnout,” Cross said.

Cross added that voters’ level of passion for their candidate will likely determine whether they head to the polls early.

“The Bernie (Sanders) folks, they’re going to be out; they’re going to vote for him regardless,” Cross said. “But particularly those that are in the more moderate lane, (Pete) Buttigieg or (Joe) Biden or (Amy) Klobuchar, I think you’re going to see a lot more trepidation about getting out and voting before those two other primaries.”

That was not the case for Houston resident Lupe de Leon, who cast her vote for Biden at the Moody Community Center in near north-side. De Leon said she is supporting Biden because she thinks he can “pick up where they left off with (former president Barack) Obama and continue what he started.”

She said the prospect of Biden dropping out of the contest before the March 3 primary did not make her think about voting closer to Election Day.

“I hope (that doesn’t happen),” de Leon said. “I think he needs to step it up a little bit, he needs to get out there and fight.”

Texas Democratic Party spokesman Abhi Rahman said he expects turnout during early voting to exceed 2016 levels, the party’s goal this year. As for whether to wait or vote now, Rahman said it’s a personal decision.

“We have great candidates,” Rah-man said. “Really, whatever people decide to do they need to make the best decision for themselves.”

Republican Party of Texas spokesman Sam Pohl was similarly optimistic.

“We’re confident Republican voter turnout was strong,” Pohl said. “Republicans are excited to vote this cycle.”

Though it was difficult to draw conclusions from the initial turnout figures, Houston Democratic consultant Keir Murray said an analysis of mail ballot returns through Monday showed that nearly half the voters who had returned mail ballots voted in none or just one of the last three primaries.

That is far more than the typical share, Murray said, potentially indicating that a large number of new voters are turning out this year. jasper.scherer@chron.com