Decision 2024

Dallas County needs big turnout on Election Day to match historic 2020 numbers

Early voting ended Friday, Nov. 1; Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5

People vote early in North Texas in October 2024.
NBC 5 News

Election Day Voting — What to Know

During the 12 days of early voting, an average of 53,000 people voted each day in Dallas County, but that accounts for less than half of the county's roughly 1.5 million registered voters.

The most updated data from the Dallas County Elections Department showed that 633,142 people voted early in person. The department also received 28,940 absentee ballots, bringing the total reported by the county during early voting to 662,082. That means 44.98% of the county's 1,471,889 registered voters have already voted.

Dallas County Elections reports the turnout for the 2020 election was 66.15%, with 926,518 total votes cast. To have the same turnout percentage this year, another 21.17%, or 311,598 people, would have to vote on Tuesday. Data from Dallas County Elections showed 118,670 voted for president on Election Day 2020. To match the total votes cast four years ago, another 264,436 people would need to vote in this election in Dallas County.

According to the U.S. Census, despite the pandemic, the 2020 election had the highest national voter turnout of the 21st century, with 66.8% of eligible citizens voting. The average turnout for presidential elections this century is typically closer to 60%.

The chart below shows early voting by day for Dallas County in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

November elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday of the month. Early voting typically lasts 12 days, ending four days before Election Day or the Friday before the Tuesday election. Things were a little different in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to complications and concerns with voting in person, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation extending early voting to 18 days to give Texans more time to get to the polls. Early voting typically begins on a Monday, but in 2020, it began on Tuesday, Oct. 13, because Columbus Day fell on Monday, Oct. 12. Historically, there has been lower voting on Sundays, so the drops on the chart from Sunday voting occur on Day 7 in 2016 and Day 6 in 2020. Tarrant County also did not open for early voting on Sunday, Day 6, in 2020.

HOW TEXAS VOTED IN 2020

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