Harris County shatters records for early voting

David Zaga and Monica Ortega read a Voters Guide while waiting in line with several others Friday during early voting at the Harris County Precinct 3 Trini Mendenhall Sosa Community Center. David Zaga and Monica Ortega read a Voters Guide while waiting in line with several others Friday during early voting at the Harris County Precinct 3 Trini Mendenhall Sosa Community Center. Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Harris County shatters records for early voting 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Early voting is on a record pace in Harris County and in many other counties in the region and state.

After five days of open polls, in-person and mail ballots have topped 310,000 in the county, a record tally that far outstrips the early turnout from 2008, itself a record year. Through Thursday, the most recent data available, the state's 15 largest counties reported nearly 1.2 million votes had been cast, a 6.8 percent increase over the same period in 2008.

Political observers say the rising tallies are due largely to greater awareness and use of early voting by the public, and partly to efforts by political campaigns and election officials and voters' strong feelings about the most expensive presidential race in the nation's history.

"More than anything else, what we're seeing is a natural trend," said Mark Jones, political scientist at Rice University. "More and more people are getting used to it, they're socialized to do it, whereas when it first started, it seemed somewhat strange voting before the Election Day."

Desire for 'relevance'

County Clerk Stan Stanart would like to think some of the local jump in turnout is due to his pleading with residents to cast ballots early, but he acknowledged voters' desire for "relevance" plays a role. Stanart hopes to avoid confusion on Election Day, when recent redistricting efforts will force a fifth of residents to vote at new polling places.

Political campaigns also are imploring supporters to vote early, allowing the campaigns to better target get-out-the-vote efforts on Election Day.

Early voting began gaining ground in some parts of the country more than two decades ago and since has been adopted widely nationwide and in some foreign countries, according to a 2008 paper by Reed College political scientist Paul Gronke, who runs the Early Voting Information Center.

Statewide and locally, it is hard to deny the growing importance of early voting. Compare this year's 1.2 million early votes through four days, for instance, to the 655,265 cast over the same period in 2004, or the 278,332 that were cast in the first four days of early voting in 2000.

A majority of all votes in Harris County in 2008 - 63 percent - were cast early, up from 42 percent in 2004 and just 26 percent in 2000. The last three non-presidential general elections have seen the same trend.

'Just human nature'

The embrace of early voting has been in part psychological, said Bexar County elections administrator Jacque Callanen. Election Day voters waiting in line at their assigned polling place start griping if their waits top 15 minutes, she said, but early voters, who choose the day and place they will vote, do not mind waiting 20 minutes or more.

"Because it was their choice to go," she said. "It's just human nature."

Texas, which Gronke's paper cited as a leader in early voting for accepting ballots up to three weeks before elections beginning in 1988, since has been leapfrogged by other states.

Obama sets precedent

Five states started voting in September, and another dozen had joined in by the time Texas and seven other states opened the polls on Monday, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State. Four other states began taking early ballots Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday in Chicago, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to cast a ballot before Election Day. Here in Houston, Mayor Annise Parker voted Thursday at Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, the second-busiest of the county's 37 early voting locations.

Texas' lack of competitive statewide races might not dampen early turnout, Jones said, noting that early voters typically are more engaged and look forward to the "symbolic act" of supporting their candidates.

Locally, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Montgomery counties all reported increases in early voting from 2008 to this year, ranging from 15 percent to 38 percent. Election officials in those counties said the increases accompany recent increases in their voter rolls but said they expect this year's totals to top those from 2008 even after population growth is considered.

mike.morris@chron.com

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