TYLER, Texas — Another election cycle has just about come and gone, and most county officials across East Texas say it was very successful election in terms of voter participation.
Smith, Gregg, Angelina and Wood counties all saw significant increases in early voting rates – and more voters overall on Election Day. Smith and Gregg counties both saw four times the number of early voters compared to 2021.
An influx of Angelina County early voters surpassed 2021’s voter total by 1:30 p.m. on Election Day.
And while Wood County doesn’t have the tech to see if their high total of early voters has led to more in-person voters yet, an eye test suggested things were going pretty well.
"And from what we’re hearing, of course we can’t see numbers live today, but from what we’re hearing they’re (polling locations) all busy. They’ve been busy all day." said Laura Wise, Wood County elections administrator.
Smith County saw some serious growth for voter turnout. In the 2021 election, there were about 8,000 total voters counted. By 4 p.m. on Election Day alone, Smith County reported that they had seen around 8,600 in-person voters.
With more than 9,500 early voters, Smith County has more than doubled their total from 2021.
In Gregg County, a big reason for a rise in voting could be some of the big-money issues on the ballot like Longview and Pine Tree ISDs' bonds.
"Well, we have the Pine Tree ISD has a bond election, and Longview ISD is having a bond election. Plus, Gregg County has a bond election for a new parking garage structure. So we have several of those on the ballot," said Jennifer Briggs, Gregg County elections administrator.
Nacogdoches County Elections Administrator Vicki Wood said the county didn’t see an uptick in early voters, and polls Tuesday have sent the same message. She said one reason for this could be there are 14 different amendments on the ballot that would make changes in the county, which could be overwhelming voters.