FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — In Fort Bend County, voting turnout has been record-breaking.
“We surpassed any past historic numbers," said Judge K.P. George.
So far, 327,811 votes have been cast during the early-voting period, surpassing a total of 262,000 cast during the 2016 presidential election.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton won Fort Bend County 51% to President Donald Trump’s 45%. Stein said this time, the race to watch will be the congressional one between Sri Preston Kulkarni and Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls.
“I’d say it’s a close race, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kulkarni wins it by three points, but not much more and turnout will be everything here," Stein said.
Turnout on Election Day, he said, could favor Republicans. The good news is that instead of trucking the results from each precinct to the county’s headquarters, the elections administrator said they’re going digital. Which means faster results.
“Sometimes we wouldn’t get anything from the east end until 11:30 p.m. or 12 a.m., we’re now going to send these over a secure county network," Elections Administrator John Oldham said.
Fort Bend County expects to release early-voting numbers at 7 p.m. on Election Night, like normal. As for when they will have final results, it depends on the turnout.