Early voting numbers show west side voting more heavily

In Travis County, 329,848 voters cast their ballots early; that’s 37.19 percent of the county’s registered voters, according to the Travis County clerk’s office, 10 percent lower than turnout in the record-breaking 2018 midterms. Austin pollster Mark Littlefield says that, within the Travis County portion of the city of Austin, turnout was 35 percent compared to 37 percent in 2020. Breaking that down according to City Council districts, he found that District 10 had the highest turnout with 45.5 percent of voters registered in that northwest district voting early. That in spite of the fact that there is no Council seat on their ballot, perhaps indicating strong interest in the mayor’s race and offices higher on the ballot, such as governor.

Turnout was also robust in District 8 in Southwest Austin, where Council Member Paige Ellis is running for reelection, with an early turnout of 43 percent. And in the Travis County portion of District 6, the farthest northwest district, turnout was close to 41 percent, according to Littlefield. District 7, where there is no race for a Council seat, saw a turnout of 38.3 percent. District 5, where there is a battle brewing over who will sit in the South Austin chair since Council Member Ann Kitchen is retiring, had turnout of 37.5 percent. District 9, which is similarly competitive in the wake of Council Member Kathie Tovo’s departure, saw a turnout of 34 percent. In District 1, where Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison is running for reelection for her northeast area seat, turnout was 31.7 percent, but in District 3, where there is a battle to take the east side seat currently held by Council Member Pio Renteria, early turnout was only 27.4 percent.