Monday marked the first day of early voting in Texas for the upcoming primaries. Everyone expected voting to be heavy. But it was even heavier than expected.
In both Dallas County and Tarrant County (the Fort Worth area) voters came in at 10 times the number seen in the last Presidential Primary in 2004.
Check below for more on the numbers.
From the Dallas Morning News:
"The exuberant vibe on the first day of voting for the state's March 4 primaries was evident in one Dallas woman's response to being told there was a 10-minute wait to vot.
"It's OK," said Lucy Ford, 58, pumping a fist in the air. "I love it."
From the same article:
"I had to vote today," said Art Lizcano, 37, of Dallas. It's too important to put off. We are either going to have a woman president or an African-American president, which is something that I didn't think would ever happen in my lifetime," he said.
Notice he didn't say anything about the possibility of electing a Republican president!
In Dallas County, the voters in just the first hour of early voting on Monday exceeded the total recorded in the entire first day of voting in 2004. Dallas County posted an extra 75 poll workers. And the Democratic party ordered 100,000 extra ballots, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Totals for the day set records as well. And the party distribution was very telling about where the excitement is coming from:
Democratic Primary - 8599 votes
Republican Primary - 2417 votes
Remember... this is Texas. A Red State.
But the real enthusiasm is, of course, on the Democratic side. And what is most exciting for Texas voters, is that for the first time in decades, our primary votes actually mean something this year!