Early voting sets record with 156K casting ballots in Montgomery County

Brenda Vega takes a selfie after casting her ballot on the last day of early voting at the Lee G. Alworth building Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, in Conroe. Brenda Vega takes a selfie after casting her ballot on the last day of early voting at the Lee G. Alworth building Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, in Conroe. Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Early voting sets record with 156K casting ballots in Montgomery County 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

County partisan leaders are in agreement on one this election cycle. Voter turnout in Montgomery County has hit record breaking numbers with almost 50 percent of registered voters casting ballots during early voting.

According to information from Election Central, there are 313,524 registered voters in Montgomery County with 156,418 (49.89 percent) voting between Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. During the 2012 presidential election, 122,729 (46.25 percent) of the county's 265,370 registered voters cast their votes early. Those numbers include mail-in and limited ballots.

Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Dr. Wally Wilkerson said there were about 600 additional ballots to be counted from those living overseas.

"That is a substantial record," Wilkerson said noting some of the reason is due to the increase in population. "But from what I can tell is there is a lot of excitement with this election and I am very pleased with the response of voters and voting like they have."

Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Meyer echoed Wilkerson and added while Montgomery County is "red" he hoped the increased voting number translates in to more democratic voters.

"It's hard to really tell until we see the results," Meyer said. "But we may be looking at more than 200,000 voters in Montgomery County … and from our perspective that is great because that means more people are voting and that is what we want.

"We want everyone who is able to vote, to vote."

The biggest turnout was Oct. 24, the first day of early voting. According to Election Central 20,433 voters cast ballots followed by Oct. 29 with 14,014 visiting the polls. Early voting locations in The Woodlands had the most voters with 63,899 (44.10 percent) of the 144,846 in-person votes. However, that does not mean those were all Woodlands residents since early polling locations are open to all voters in the county.

Behind The Woodlands voting locations, of which there are two, were Conroe with 19,152 (13.22 percent) ballots cast, followed by Montgomery with 16,408 (11.33 percent), Magnolia with 16,251 (11.22 percent), East County with 15,991 (11.04 percent) and Willis with 12,390 (8.55 percent).

Montgomery County Elections Coordinator Suzie Harvey said numbers could be up because of a push for voter registration prior to the election season.

Conroe residents Buddy, 56, and Becky Coker, 52, were among those who voted in Conroe Friday hoping for shorter lines. The two agree voting in this election was critical.

"I think we need a change in this country and we hope he (Republican Nominee Donald Trump) can do it," Buddy Coker said.

Conroe resident Andy Smith, 22, said the controversial candidate is part of the higher turnout.

"It's a pretty big decision that needs to be made for America's future," Smith said. "I think it's historical because some people think one candidate is a racist bigot and other people think the other candidate is Satan incarnate. Definitely around here I think you probably know who the majority voted for."

Conroe resident Eric Hall, 55, said he voted because he believe a change is needed.

"I think we need to change some of our direction," Hall said. "I'm disenchanted with the traditional Republican and Democratic parties. I voted for Trump because I think he is going to allow some change."

As for predictions for turnout locally, Wilkerson and Meyer agree Trump will be the winner. But overall the two are more reserved.

"I think there will be some surprises," Wilkerson said. "I don't know if Mr. Trump will pull it off but if not, it's going to be close."

Meyer added the results will be interesting.

"Obviously the Montgomery County Democratic Party is looking forward to electing the first female president," he said. "That is one step forward in shattering that glass ceiling."

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Meagan Ellsworth contributed to this report.