Early voting for the 2026 midterm elections began in Texas on Monday, Oct. 19, and several North Texas counties posted record first-day early-voting numbers.
The Dallas County Elections Department reported that 76,079 voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting across Dallas polling locations. This is an increase from the 2024 presidential election, when 56,431 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting, according to Texas Secretary of State data. This is also nearly 44,000 more than the 2022 midterm election, when 32,605 votes were cast.
In Tarrant County, 50,409 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting, according to the Tarrant County Elections Administration, up from 29,197 in the 2022 midterm election. However, 2026 saw lower voter turnout compared to the 2024 presidential election, when 58,487 votes were cast on the first day of early voting, according to data from the Texas Secretary of State.
Denton County Elections reported that 34,739 voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting, an increase of more than 17,000 from the 2022 midterm election. According to the Texas Secretary of State, on the first day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election, Denton County saw 50,661 ballots cast, an increase of nearly 16,000 compared to 2026 voter turnout.
In Collin County, 34,522 ballots were cast on Oct. 19, roughly 15,000 more than in the 2022 midterm election. Voter turnout on the first day of early voting in 2026 was nearly 10,000 less than in the 2024 presidential election, when 43,987 ballots were cast, according to Texas Secretary of State data.
This comes after printer issues caused delays in parts of Collin County on Monday morning, with some voters saying they had to leave because of the problems.
Viewers told NBC 5 that some people who arrived to vote were turned away because of issues with the printers.
The Collin County election commissioner confirmed there were ballot printer issues at some early voting locations on Monday morning, but this was not a countywide issue. Around 10 locations were affected, but service was later restored.
It’s unclear how long the polls were affected and how many people were turned away or unable to vote.
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