HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - It’s Day 2 of early voting in Texas, and the turn-out seems to be high. Yesterday, more than 63,000 people voted in a in Harris County, setting a record for turn-out in a mid-term election.
Even with today’s on and off rainfall, lines were steady at polling sites.
“I saw it was raining and I figured it wouldn’t be a lot of people, but I was surprised,” says Cypress resident Mary Jo Huggins.
Lines flowed at the historic Juergen’s Community Center in Cypress.
Murtaza Tapal admits that it’s his first time voting in a mid-term. “Because of the turmoil our country is going through, it wasn’t a good idea to just sit home, that a miracle will happen and change will come. Change needs to come within.”
Lines were so long yesterday, Wanda Threadgill walked away, and returned this morning.
“Usually the voting lines aren’t as long, but this election is so important that people are coming out to vote,” says Threadgill.
“What I’m beginning to see is an increased turn-out among voters who had not voted in mid-term elections and that is particularly true for Democrats,” explains KHOU political analyst, Bob Stein.
Stein adds that voters on both sides seem energized by the U.S. Senate race and several competitive congressional races. He says there are more Democrats registered to vote in the County, but that Republicans have traditionally been more reliable voters in mid-terms.
“No doubt in my mind, that in Harris County, the Democrats will close the gap they traditionally have with Republicans,” says Stein.