State Capital Highlights

Secretary of State Pablos applauds early voting turnout

AUSTIN — Statistics compiled by the office of the secretary of state show Texans cast ballots in record numbers during the early voting period before the Nov. 6 midterm general election.

Of the 12,255,607 registered voters in the 30 most-populous counties of Texas, some 4,884,528 individuals voted in person or by mail during the early voting period of Oct. 22 through Nov. 2. That comes to nearly 40 percent of registered voters for those counties. If not a record, that is unusually high in comparison to early voting in previous nonpresidential elections.

Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, the state’s chief elections officer, on Nov. 2 encouraged the 11 million registered voters who did not take advantage of early voting to get to the polls and vote on Election Day.

“As you head to the polls, please be prepared to join the millions of Texans who are eager to cast their votes,” Pablos said. “I ask you to be patient and respectful as Texans celebrate this privileged event of civic duty to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”

Pablos addressed rumors that electronic voting machines might be inaccurately processing ballots. He assured voters that each of their choices on their ballots would be counted accurately and securely and that “every polling place in Texas is staffed by trained elections officials and personnel who are there to help you, are ready to assist and can ensure that you are able to successfully cast your vote.”