Texas voters are showing up in force this fall. Nearly 4.5 million ballots were cast in the first full week of early voting, with 23.4 percent of registered voters statewide participating between October 19 and October 25. Harris and Dallas counties both set first-day records, and here in Ellis County, local polling locations have stayed busy. The statewide pace is slightly behind 2018’s midterm numbers but comfortably ahead of 2022.

The Rio Grande Valley has become the focal point of the final push. Hidalgo County has already seen 101,225 early voters, just 2,000 short of its entire 2024 turnout. Democrats rallied an estimated 5,000 people in Weslaco with gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, Senate candidate James Talarico, congressional candidate Bobby Pulido, and norteño legends Los Tigres del Norte. Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton spent the same stretch campaigning in Brownsville, working to preserve his party’s recent gains in the region.

Early voting ends Friday, October 30, and Election Day follows on Tuesday, November 3. If you’re in Waxahachie or anywhere in Ellis County, now is the time to check your polling location and make your plan. Have you voted yet, or are you waiting for Election Day?