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With three more full days of voting left this election, Travis County has surpassed its November 2016 turnout.
As of midday on Wednesday, 486,206 votes had been cast during the early voting period and by mail compared to a total of 477,588 votes in the last presidential election.
"We can't emphasize enough how proud we are of Travis County voters for coming out in huge numbers during this early voting period," the Travis County Clerk's office tweeted.
The moment you’ve been waiting for...Travis County has surpassed its Nov ‘16 total vote turnout! 486,206 votes ha… https://t.co/XrDtYfQDE4— Travis County Clerk (@Travis County Clerk)1603904984.0
During the last presidential election, nearly 80% of Travis County voters cast their ballots early. Of the 477,588 total votes, only 103,536 were cast on Election Day.
This trend is not limited to Travis County. Nearby Hays and Williamson counties surpassed their 2016 numbers earlier this week, and turnout is up statewide—and across the country—despite the ongoing pandemic.
As of Tuesday, more than 8.1 million people—or around 48% of registered voters—had cast their ballots early in Texas. This surpasses turnout during the first two weeks of early voting in both 2016, when nearly 44% of registered voters had cast their ballots, and 2012, when less than 37% had, according to the Texas Tribune.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced over the summer that the early voting period would be extended by six days due to the pandemic.
Texas is 819,931 votes away from surpassing the statewide turnout in the 2016 general election. It has already exceeded the 2012 turnout by 155,445 votes, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office.
The early voting period ends on Friday, Oct. 30. Registered voters will be able to cast their ballots so long as they are in line by 7 p.m. A list of early voting polling locations can be found here.
The following six polling locations will be open until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday:
- Ben Hur Shrine Centerr
- Millennium Youth Complex
- PfISD Rock Gym
- South Park Meadows, Suite 400
- South Park Meadows, Suite 500
- Austin Central Library
Residents can find wait time estimates for each location here, whether they are registered to vote here, voter identification requirements in Texas here, their personal ballot here and some races to watch here.
Many local businesses are also encouraging voting by offering specials—from a free slice of pizza to a discounted pint—to those who bring in their "I voted" or "Yo voté" sticker.
This story has been updated to clarify the total number of votes cast in the 2016 presidential election.
More on voting:
5 places that reward you for voting early this year
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Popular
Cat Osterman is retiring from softball after a 17-year Olympic career and three Olympic medals. (USA Softball/Twitter)
Osterman, a three-time Olympian who has been called the "Michael Jordan of softball," will officially retire from the international realm at 38 after a decorated career that included Olympic golds, years of retirement and plenty of adversity—from a worldwide pandemic to dashed gold-medal dreams.
Osterman and her crew left Tokyo on a bittersweet note on Tuesday with a silver medal in hand.
Osterman with Team USA in 2008. (Antoni Majewski/Twitter)
Osterman in the final in 2021. (Antoni Majewski/Twitter)
After a year of sparse in-person training and over a decadelong hiatus, Team USA and Osterman flew to the finals. In five games, the team beat Italy (2-0), Canada (1-0), Mexico (2-0), Australia (2-1), and Japan (2-1).
Deja vu struck in the final match. On one side, Osterman and fellow 2008 Olympic teammate Monica Abbott took the mound; on the other was the 39-year-old Yukiko Ueno, a familiar foe who helped the team beat Team USA last go-round.
"Just like 13 years ago," Ueno said in a press conference, "we were facing each other in the final."
Ueno, who had lost hopes at gold to Osterman in '04, outpitched her longtime opponent with six scoreless innings as Team USA was held to just three hits. The same team that squandered their gold-medal hopes 13 years before had done it once again.
"There's a little bit of disappointment in not bringing home the gold since that's the eye on the prize when you go over there and you know you have a shot at it," Osterman told Austonia. "But more than anything, I'm very proud of the way our team handled everything that was part of this journey and not just the six games."
It's that very loss at the 2008 Olympics that partially motivated Osterman to get back on the mound. She officially put down the glove in 2015 after six seasons with the USSSA Pride, took time with family and began coaching at Texas State University.
Osterman helped ace Randi Rupp to greatness while a coach at Texas State University. (Active Voice Health/Twitter)
She thought her Olympic endeavors were well over—until talks of reinstating softball into the Games reentered the conversation.
"It wasn't until 2016 or 2017, that it ever crossed my mind to possibly put the USA uniform on again," Osterman said. "After the World Championships in 2010, I walked away, and I thought that my career on the international stage was done. So this was a pleasant kind of new opportunity."
Three years after facing any competition, Osterman was on the field once more with world-class athletes. Some, like Osterman and Abbott, had been playing together long enough to form a formidable "Fire and Ice" duo on the mound. Others had just graduated college.
Osterman said playing with a younger generation of athletes was one of the most rewarding aspects of this year's Games.
"It can be very different when you have 24- and 38-year-olds on the same field," Osterman said. "The adversity put us in some challenging positions and we came through with flying colors. And this group will forever be special just because what we had to go through is so different."
While on the mound, Osterman's job was to give the team a calm start. Off of the field, she felt her role had much of the same effect: she knew that new Olympic feeling, and she served as a deep breath to her first-time teammates.
"There's no words to explain how nervous and excited you get knowing that the whole world can be watching," Osterman. "I think using those emotions and figuring out how to get all our butterflies lined up and going in the right direction, so that way we were all moving together, was kind of my role outside of pitching."
We've heard her retire once before, but this time Osterman said she's gone for good—even from coaching. After her final time with Team USA on Sept. 27, she plans on returning to Austin, where she'll look to work for a nonprofit.
A gold and two silvers will have to do for one of the most decorated athletes in U.S. softball history.
"To be able to say you're a three-time Olympic medalist is a pretty special deal, right?" Osterman. "I played for a long time. But those are the pinnacle, in my mind, and kind of what elicits the dream to keep playing."
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