Early voting in both Bowie and Miller counties started off remarkably high the first day that process started back on Oct. 22, and it remained high up to the end of it in Bowie County at 5 p.m. Friday.
Bowie County Elections Administrator George Stegall said early mid-term voting (middle of four-year presidential term) was the highest the county has had since he became elections administrator in 2005.
During the 11-day period, a record 12,190 Bowie County residents cast early ballots-about a 50 percent increase above the last mid-term election in 2014.
Of the 12,190 early votes casts, 7,969 were counted at the Bi-State Justice Center polling place in Texarkana, while 4,221 voters cast early ballots at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas, Stegall said.
He added that the early vote totals combined with the nearly 3,000 mail-in ballots received by the county totaled roughly about 15,000 early votes cast all together.
As for Miller County, Elections Administrator Linda Crawford said 4,625 early ballots have been cast so far, since early voting started Oct. 22. Presently, Miller County's early voting continues from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. today. The last early-voting day will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday.