Thousands of early voters cast ballots Tuesday in Harris County, kicking off the nation's first primary election.

Overall voter turnout was normal for a midterm, primary election, officials said. But Harris County Democrats reported voters clogging telephone lines, and GOP officials told of long lines at polling places throughout the morning.

RELATED: Harris County Democrats blame GOP clerk for shortage of precinct judges

Roughly 17,650 ballots were cast in Harris County, officials said, including more than 7,300 done in-person at the county's 46 polling places.

Now Playing:

"We're really encouraged by the number of people that have gotten their vote in by mail, really encouraged by the energy around the county," Odus Evbagharu, spokesman for the Harris County Democrats, said Tuesday afternoon. "Harris County is ground zero for turning Texas blue."

The 3,800 in-person votes cast Tuesday by Democrats represents a 300 percent increase as compared to the first day of early voting in 2014, the last non-presidential-year primary, according to Jay Kumar Aiter, a Texas Southern University political science professor. In-person Republican votes were also up about 25 percent since 2014, Aiter wrote on Twitter.

Including mail ballots, Democrats cast 8,000 votes Tuesday - or 45 percent of the daily total - while Republicans' 9,650 accounted for about 55 percent of the daily total.

ENDORSEMENTS: Houston Chronicle's Democratic primary picks

In 2014, county records show early voters from both parties in Harris County cast about 80,000 votes through the duration of the primary that year, with Republicans accounting for about 72 percent of the total. Democrats meanwhile cast 22,700 early votes.

"People are more involved, and they want to vote," said Thomas Herold, a precinct judge at a polling place on Beall Street. "There are more people running, and the ballot is packed. But it's the issues, too."

Antoine Mack, 36, was compelled to vote Tuesday by what he said is a need to reform public education and the criminal justice system - or rather, "over-incarceration," as he called it after leaving the Beall Street polling place.

He works with a Third Ward-based nonprofit called Forge For Families. But for years he's neglected to get politically involved, instead believing that his volunteer works was enough to affect change.

But that's changed as he's aged, he said, particularly as America continues to be plagued by gun violence, whether in schools or streets.

"We've lost four kids to gun violence since June of last year," Mack said of his community. "But no one talks about it when it happens in communities like ours. They only talk about it when it's a mass shooting."

ENDORSEMENTS: See the recommended candidates in the Republican primary

On the Republican side, voters will cast yes-or-no votes on 11 measures this primary season. Among them: Swapping the state's property tax system with a consumption tax; demands for a full congressional repeal of the Affordable Care Act; stronger E-verification of employees by companies; and whether families should receive tax credits for private, charter or home schooling.

Democratic voters, meanwhile, will weigh 12 propositions, including a national jobs program, automatic voter registration, and a hodgepodge of measures on rights to "a quality public education," universal health care, and paid family or sick leave, among other things.

Democrats will also decide who will challenge incumbents Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, and statewide there are eight congressional seats open.

But the first day of the nation's first primary wasn't without issues or finger-pointing: Early Tuesday, Harris County Democrats were still scrambling to fill 55 precinct judge slots, sparking accusations of voter suppression that were quickly rebuked by the county GOP.

Last Wednesday, the county elections office notified both parties they were short and the office was going into emergency mode to fill in 146 vacancies. By Tuesday morning, the Democrats were missing 55 judges, and Republicans had five vacant slots.

ESSENTIALS: When, where to vote and what's on the primary election ballot

A Democratic spokesman midday Tuesday blamed the shortfall, which by then had dwindled to about 20 judges, on stalling by Republican County Clerk Stan Stanart. Democrats said Stanart was late to provide precinct addresses and training equipment amid a "playing field (that) is not very level."

A representative for the Harris County Republican Party attributed the staffing situation to poor planning by Democrats. Stanart, the county clerk, laughed out loud when he heard the allegations of stalling, and Sonya Aston, administrator of elections, said the claim by Evbagharu was "shocking," given how much effort the elections office has put into helping both parties ready themselves for the primary.

A spokesperson for the Harris County Republican Party called this explanation "bogus," saying the lack of staff was the result of sloppy planning and procrastination and the Democratic Party didn't get started early enough finding precinct judges who are capable, flexible and available to staff their polling places.