Updated at 5:34 p.m.: To include the latest numbers from Tuesday.

AUSTIN – On the first day of early voting Monday, 81,723 Dallas County residents cast their ballots, edging out the first day in 2016, a presidential election year.

The county had 59,389 people vote in person and received 22,334 mail-in ballots, according to the Texas secretary of state website. That's about 6 percent of the 1.3 million registered Dallas County voters.

Dallas, Denton and Collin counties all surpassed the number of first-day voters in the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections and midterm elections in 2010 and 2014. Tarrant County had about 3,700 fewer votes than in 2016 but easily surpassed previous midterm election numbers.

Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson said it's too early to tell what the high voter turnout means for Democratic or Republican candidates' chances in November.

"There's a lot of energy out there," he said. "I went to vote yesterday to a place I've been going to for years and the lines were longer than I've ever seen before. It's hard to know what to make of it, but we have to see whether this continues through the rest of early voting."

Jillson said Democrats usually believe high voter turnout in early voting is good for them, but Republicans typically cast 1 million more votes than Democrats.

1 / 6Gene Lantz pedaled past the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building in downtown Dallas on his way to a voting rally on Monday, the first day of early voting.(Irwin Thompson / Staff Photographer) 2 / 6Candidates signs stand near the Dallas County Government Center at the corner of Beckley Ave and Twelfth St, Precinct 5, early Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, 2018 in Oak Cliff. Early voting started Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.Election Day is Nov. 6. (Irwin Thompson) 3 / 6People walk into the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building in Dallas on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018. Early voting starts Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2.(Irwin Thompson) 4 / 6Candidates signs lined the sidewalk across from the street as early voting started at the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building in Dallas at 600 Commerce St on Oct. 22, 2018. Early voting starts Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. If youâre in line by 7 p.m., you are legally entitled to cast your vote. Election Day is Nov. 6. (Irwin Thompson / Staff Photographer) 5 / 6Chad Eaton waits on a ride after early voting at the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building in Dallas at 600 Commerce St on Oct. 22, 2018. Early voting starts Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. If youâre in line by 7 p.m., you are legally entitled to cast your vote. Election Day is Nov. 6.(Irwin Thompson / Staff Photographer) 6 / 6Dallas voter Mike Lee leaves the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building, at 600 Commerce St, on Oct. 22, 2018, after early voting on the first day in Dallas. Early voting starts Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. If youâre in line by 7 p.m., you are legally entitled to cast your vote. Election Day is Nov. 6. (Irwin Thompson / Staff Photographer)

Other Texas counties also saw record numbers of first-day voters. In Harris County, 63,188 in-person ballots and 52,413 mail-in ballots were cast by the end of Monday.

The momentum appeared to continue Tuesday. By 4:45 p.m., officials said 42,172 ballots had been cast in Dallas. That nearly matched the 42,241 ballots that had been cast by 4:30 p.m. Monday.

As of 4:45PM, 42,172 voters have cast their vote.



Come out and Vote at any of our 55 locations!



Let us know if you have any questions or concerns! https://t.co/3WiN3yTMWc — Dallas Elections (@DallasElections) October 23, 2018

After the polls closed at 5 p.m. in Tarrant County, the county website's preliminary count showed 43,687 ballots cast in person, topping the 40,414 on Monday.

Dallas County residents can find voting locations and view wait times on this map. More early voting information for Dallas County can be found on the county registrar's website.

A record number of Texans are registered to vote in November — 15,793,257. Dallas County has more than 1.3 million registered in a state that traditionally has had abysmally low voter turnout. During the 2014 midterm elections, only 4.7 million of the 14 million registered voters went to the polls.

CORRECTION, 3:05 p.m. Oct. 23, 2018: An earlier version of this story said the more than 689,000 people who voted topped the number from the first day of early voting in 2016, but that is for the top 30 counties, and 2016 looked at only 15 counties.