High number of voters cast ballot in day 2 of early voting

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It is day two of early voting after a record number of voters turned out on day one.

According to county elections officials, more than 10,000 ballots were cast in Cameron County on Monday and more than 20,000 in Hidalgo County.

Voters and volunteers at the Lark Community Center tell ValleyCentral it has been steady and busy all day.

The latest numbers from Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Hilda Salinas showed over 12,000 people had already cast ballots as of Tuesday afternoon, most of which voted at the Lark Community Center.

According to the Hidalgo County website, the second day of early voting for the last Presidential Election in 2020 saw a little over 16,000 votes.

The county could meet or even exceed its numbers from four years ago.

A recent report from The Hill says the large numbers could be explained by the fact that there are just more Texans and Texas voters than in the past.

There has been a 15% increase in the number of residents between 2016 and this year and voter registrations have gone up even more, outpacing that population growth.

However, the numbers alone will not tell us how people are voting or why they are opting to vote early rather than waiting for election day.

“Even before I could vote, I was already getting into politics a little bit," said early voter Isaac Saenz. "So I was like if I could vote, I would. Once I got over that threshold, I was like yeah, I’ll vote. And so now it’s just like, let me vote early. I’ve been voting the last couple elections. I’d just rather get it out of the way early, that way I won’t have to deal with everything last minute."

Saenz says he is a voter who will vote for the candidate over the party and says he is interested in officeholders voting records to see how closely they align with his values.

Cameron County Elections Administrator Remi Garza said the county is on pace to exceed its second-day totals compared to the 2020 election.