Texas Early Voting's Age Gap: Voters 65 and Older Are Turning Out at 32.2 Percent, Voters Under 35 at About 9 Percent

Older Texans are carrying the state's early vote by a wide margin. Voters 65 and older had turned out at a 32.2 percent rate through the first week of early voting, compared with about 9 percent among voters under 35, according to Texas Secretary of State data compiled by Transparency USA and reported by the Texas Gazette. The figures cover the first five days: 3,673,801 ballots statewide through Friday - 3,514,704 in person and 159,097 by mail - about 19.4 percent of the state's 18,966,727 registered voters, with 239 of 254 counties reporting.

Texas does not register voters by party, so Transparency USA's analysis of the voter file uses primary history as a rough picture - with the source's own caution that it does not show how anyone voted this year. Of those who had voted, 35.8 percent last voted in a Democratic primary and 34.1 percent in a Republican primary; about 21.1 percent have voted only in general elections, and 5.2 percent have no prior voting history. Monday's opening day was the busiest of the first week, with 784,148 in-person voters statewide; daily turnout eased to 628,798 on Thursday and climbed back to 677,374 on Friday.

Around Houston, Harris County passed half a million ballots in the first week - about 1 in 5 registered voters, the fastest midterm start in county records going back to 1998, ABC13 reported, with more than 104,000 in-person voters on Monday alone. The surrounding counties ran hotter as a share: Fort Bend County recorded 138,972 votes, 24.1 percent of its registered voters; Brazoria County 59,242, or 22.8 percent; Galveston County 57,319, or 22.9 percent; and Montgomery County 78,402, about 16.3 percent of its 481,004 registered voters. University of Houston political scientist Nancy Sims told ABC13 that turnout is high even in the county's suburban, traditionally Republican areas, and noted that because Harris County voters can vote at any location, 'it's a little hard to extrapolate.'

What is on the ballot explains the intensity at the top: Republican Ken Paxton, who beat Sen. John Cornyn in the May primary runoff, faces Democrat James Talarico and Libertarian Ted Brown for the U.S. Senate; Gov. Greg Abbott seeks a fourth term against Democrat Gina Hinojosa and Libertarian Pat Dixon; and Harris County voters are choosing a new county judge, Democrat Letitia Plummer or Republican Orlando Sanchez, to replace Lina Hidalgo. Early voting runs through Friday, October 30; in Harris County, centers are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, and any registered county voter may use any of the county's 75 centers. The age gap is the number both parties will be watching in the final three days: if younger voters close even part of it, the electorate the campaigns modeled all month changes with it.