Turnout in Texas midterm election ranks among state's highest in decades, records show

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Turnout in last week's election set records and will likely be one of the most-participated-in elections in a generation.

According to records from the Texas Secretary of State, almost 52% of all registered voters in Texas cast ballots in this midterm election.

That's a higher turnout than in the 2022 midterm, but turnout this year was lower than it was in 2018, when 53% of registered voters in Texas voted.

Records show turnout this year was highest in border and large urban counties.

Nearly 58% of voters in Fort Bend County cast ballots.

"Fort Bend County is one of the most demographically diverse counties. We saw on the Republican ticket. In addition to Ken Paxton, we saw Bo French, and you remember the post that went viral looking at South Asians," Dr. Michael Adams, the founding director of the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, explained. "Certainly, the Republicans in particular had some people on their ticket that did not benefit the ticket."

Dr. Adams pointed to a group called low-propensity voters, a term for voters who don't often vote. The voters are usually young, difficult to reach, and unpredictable.

"If you look at South Texas, in particular, low-propensity voters, I think these voters were motivated to get out on Election Day," Dr. Adams said.