By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Early voting turnout in Val Verde County’s primary elections continued to grow steadily through the voting period, with a noticeable spike heading into the weekend and a surge on the final reported day.
According to county election figures, a total of 4,128 in-person ballots had been cast through Feb. 27. Of those voters, 1,870 cast Republican ballots and 2,258 voted in the Democratic primary.
Voting opened Feb. 17 with 379 total ballots cast — 177 Republican and 202 Democratic. Turnout dipped slightly the following day to 351 voters and continued to gradually decline midweek before rebounding Thursday with 388 voters.
The largest increase early in the period came Saturday, Feb. 21 — the only Saturday of voting — when 519 voters cast ballots, including 189 Republicans and 330 Democrats.
Turnout slowed Saturday with 193 voters before rising again Monday to 345 and holding relatively steady throughout the week, ranging between 273 and 356 voters per day.
Turnout peaked Feb. 27, the final day of early voting, when 724 voters cast ballots — almost twice the previous day’s total — including 336 Republicans and 388 Democrats.
Overall, Democratic ballots outpaced Republican ballots throughout the early voting period, though both parties saw increased participation as Election Day approached.
Election Day voting will determine the party nominees for federal, state and county offices, with those winners advancing to the November general election.
