AUSTIN, Texas - We're nearing the end of week one of early voting in Texas and the numbers continue to impress.

Early voting in 2018 has already topped entire 2014 midterm early vote

Republicans are slighlty outpacing Democrats

Young people are coming to the polls in droves

Nearly 2 million voters in the state's top 30 counties had already cast their ballots as of Thursday night. That's almost topped the entire 2014 midterm early vote, according to data from the Secretary of State's Office.

For some, early voting is about convenience.

"I'm a teacher and I have a very full schedule, so I happen to have the time this afternoon," said one early voter in Travis County.

For Carolyn Chavana, heading to the polls early holds some sentimental value; she carries all of her voter registration cards dating back to the early '90s. Chavana remembers casting her first ballot as an absentee when she was in college.

"It's high time people took it seriously and exercised their privilege. This is a privilege," Chavana said.

From Bexar County to Travis County, early voting numbers have been record-breaking for a midterm election. At last count, nearly 160,000 people had voted in Bexar County, either in-person or by mail. In Travis County, nearly 150,000, and that's only four full days into early voting.

"This is an exciting number, this is more than what we usually see for a presidential election!" Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir said.

But which party is reaping the benefits of these early votes? According to Austin-based analytics firm Ryan Data and Research, people with Republican primary voting histories slightly outnumbered those with Democratic voting histories for the first three days of early voting. When it comes to an age breakdown, young people are showing up in droves.

In Travis County the 18-35 age group has increased by 6 percent, 85,000 people. Bexar County is also reporting double the amount of young voters. So far, early voting totals on track to parallel presidential election turnout.