Early voting records show continued low participation in primaries

Ahead of Election Day, early voting in Nueces County’s Republican and Democratic primaries rang in at its lowest voter participation since 2018, according to records.

County data shows that as of the end of day Friday — the last chance to cast ballots in early voting — about 8% of around 213,600 registered voters had turned out to make choices of who would represent the official party candidate in the upcoming general election.

In all, about 3.4% percent of all registered voters voted in the Democratic primary and about 4.6% in the Republican primary, according to statistics compiled by the Nueces County Clerk’s Office.

This year’s primary ballot features contests for federal, state and local elected positions, including president, U.S. Congress, the Texas Legislature and district attorney.

Tuesday is Election Day. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Nueces County Republican Party reached out to about 25,000 voters ahead of the primaries, said Nueces County Republican Party Chairman Carmen Calderone Jr.

“We really focused on letting voters know the importance of voting,“ he said.

That effort played a role in bringing about 19% of voters who had previously only voted in the 2020 general election to the polls for the primary, Calderone said.

He believes that it also was driven by dissatisfaction of voters who are now “wanting to get more involved,” Calderone added.

Data shows participation in this year’s primaries is slightly below those in 2020, when about 8.5% of roughly 204,000 total registered voters cast ballots in early voting. That includes about 4.7% in the Democratic party races and about 3.9% in the Republican.

Primaries in 2018, however, saw notably less participation in early voting with 6% turnout, according to county statistics.

Turnout in Nueces County’s primary elections has historically been low but can see a jump on Election Day.

While the low turnout for early voting is disappointing, there are reasons why there has been little participation, said Nueces County Democratic Party Chairman Rene Saenz.

“You would hope people would participate, but I also understand … there are going to be certain races that are going to drive voting turnout,” he said.

This year, the presidential nominee has essentially been decided, and contested races aren’t those that are countywide but instead in confined districts, he said.

When including Election Day voting, turnout in 2020 for the Democratic party’s primary nearly tripled compared to early voting percentages, with a little less than double in the Republican primary, records show.

Voters are not required to declare a party affiliation until arriving at the polls but may only vote in one party’s primary — not both.

More: Here's your voter's guide to the Texas primary elections for 2024 in South Texas counties

More: Here's how low turnout has been in early voting for the primaries.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Nueces County early voting remains low but Election Day may see boost