An additional 7,014 voters cast ballots on Friday bringing the 12-day total to 61,718.
The mark is easily the largest turnout ever during an early voting period in Bell County, besting the previous high of 42,565 by 19,153 votes.
On the final day, 1,754 voters turned out in Temple, the largest single-day crowd at any polling location during the entire early voting period.
Temple was also the busiest location overall as it drew 2,580 more voters than did the Killeen Community Center.
More than 38 percent of the 162,302 registered voters in the county took advantage of early voting.
The previous high mark was set during the 2004 presidential election between President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
In Milam County, a record 4,644 of Milam County’s 14,672 registered voters have cast ballots during the 10 days of early voting in Tuesday’s General Election, Milam County Clerk Barbara Vansa reported Friday.
All the early votes likely tell a story about which way the local and national races will break in the counties. Generally, the votes cast on Election Day are similar percentage wise to the early votes totals, although there have been exceptions.
“The end result has traditionally been what early voting is,” said Bell County Judge Jon Burrows. “It may vary a little bit percentage wise, but if someone wins substantially in early voting, they tend to do the same overall.”
While the Bell County plans to begin tabulating the early voting results on Monday, the totals will not be released until the polls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
During the March primary, the tabulation of early votes began the morning of the election and officials were not able to post results until several hours after the polls closed.
“The plan is to release early voting totals at exactly 7 p.m.,” said Jana Henderson, Bell County elections coordinator.
Bell County Clerk Shelley Coston said her staff tested the county’s main ballot machine Friday and it is ready to meet the demands that the high anticipated turnout would place upon it.
In Milam, early voting closed out Friday with the electorate filing in steadily all day until voting ended at 5 p.m., Milam County Clerk Vansa said.
In the 2004 presidential election, 3,744 people voted early. In the spring primaries, 2,142 Democrats and 227 Republicans voted early. In the 2004 primaries, 792 Democrats and 49 Republicans voted early.
The majority of the voting took place in the Milam County clerk’s office in Cameron, where 1,902 people cast ballots. The Precinct 3 justice of the peace office in Rockdale recorded 1,714 voters; the Precinct 4 justice of the peace office in Rockdale reported 473 voters; and the Precinct 1 commissioner’s office in Buckholts counted 187 early voters. The county clerk’s office reported that 333 mail-in and 35 military ballots have been returned for Tuesday’s election.
Milam County residents will be voting in the House District 20 race, where state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Jonah, is opposed by newcomers, Jim Dillon, a Democrat, and Craig C. Weems, a Libertarian.
Milam County local races are uncontested, although Precinct 1 voters will be choosing between two newcomers to replace retiring Commissioner Clifford Whiteley: Republican Garry Kelarek, who is listed first on the ballot, and Precinct 2 employee George Tomek.
jwilliams@temple-telegram.com
