2026 early voting begins with record turnout on first day in North Texas – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
2026 midterm elections
- When does early voting take place? Early voting begins Monday, October 19 and ends Friday, October 30. A list of polling locations is here for Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County and Tarrant County.
- When is election day? Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can vote if you get in line before 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Federal races: (US Senate, US House)
- State races: (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, GLO Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, Railroad Commissioner, State Board of Education, Texas Senate, Texas House)
- Departmental races: (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall)
- Judicial races: (Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Court of Appeals, District Courts, County Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts)
- Links and accessories: There are several obligations and propositions on the ballot; they are divided here by schools, municipalities and counties.
- Previous results: Here are the results from the March primary and runoff.
Early voting for the 2026 midterm elections began in Texas on Monday, October 19, and several North Texas counties saw record early voting numbers on the first day.
The Dallas County Elections Department reported that 76,079 voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting at Dallas polling places. This is an increase from the 2024 presidential election, when 56,431 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting, according to data from the Texas Secretary of State. It’s also nearly 44,000 more than in the 2022 midterm elections, 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 Election Administration, compared to 29,197 in the 2022 midterm elections. However, 2026 saw lower turnout than the 2024 presidential election, where 58,487 votes were cast on the first day of early voting, according to clerk data State of Texas.
Denton County Elections reported 34,739 voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting, an increase of more than 17,000 from the 2022 midterm elections. 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 the 2026 participation rate.
In Collin County, 34,522 ballots were cast on Oct. 19, about 15,000 more than in the 2022 midterm elections. Voter turnout on the first day of early voting in 2026 was nearly 10,000 fewer than in the 2024 presidential election, when 43,987 ballots were cast, according to data from the Texas Secretary of State.
This comes after printer issues caused delays in parts of Collin County Monday morning, with some voters saying they had to leave due to the issues.
Viewers told NBC 5 that some people who arrived to vote were turned away due to problems with the printers.
The Collin County Election Commissioner confirmed ballot printer issues at some early voting locations Monday morning, but said it was not a countywide issue. Around ten sites were affected, but service was later restored.
It is unclear how long the election was affected and how many people were turned away or unable to vote.
Early voting for the midterm elections will take place from Monday, October 19 to Friday, October 30. Election day will take place on Tuesday, November 3.
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