WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Thousands of voters in McLennan and Bell counties have already cast early ballots ahead of the March 3 primary, with election administration data showing strong early turnout in both counties.
Early voting is underway in McLennan County, where more than 11,000 residents have already voted. Of those, 4,318 are Democrats and 6,695 are Republicans.
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Some of the busiest polling locations in the county include Waco's First Assembly of God Church, which has seen more than 3,300 ballots cast, and Hewitt City Hall, where 2,732 people have voted.
This week has brought a noticeable push in participation, with hundreds of ballots cast in a single day at several sites.
I spoke with voters who said the primary is where real decisions start.
David Choke, a local voter, said:
"It's my duty. It's my right, you know, come out and spread the word."
In Bell County, more than 16,000 voters have already cast ballots out of 240,466 registered voters — nearly 7% of the electorate.
Election administrators say that figure is a sign of engagement early in the process for a primary election.
Voters in Bell County have been casting ballots at locations including Belton Annex, Lions Club Park in Killeen, Temple ISD Administration Building, Salado Annex, Harker Heights Parks, and Morgan's Point Event Center.
"You know, it's really important that we, uh, do our education, see who's really, um, who's really advocating for us in the McLennan County, Texas, um, and that's why I, I go out and vote every chance I can," local voter Tomas Cardoza said.
Early voting continues through Friday. Five locations are open across the county before Election Day on March 3.
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