Bexar County Early Voting Triples 2023 Turnout as Spurs Arena and Rodeo Drive Interest
More than 10,000 Bexar County voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting. Now that the second week of early voting is underway, we’ll be watching to see whether those numbers remain strong.
Here’s how turnout stacks up with recent elections:
As far as turnout for November elections goes, Bexar County residents are showing up. Early voters are showing up in far greater numbers than they did two years ago.
The first two days of early voting this fall have drawn roughly 21,000 voters, triple the turnout seen during the same stretch of the 2023 constitutional amendment election. Day one logged 10,158 voters, while 11,693 came out on day two, according to the Bexar County Elections Department.
Two years ago, only about 7,000 voters participated in the opening days of early voting. That ballot had several statewide constitutional amendments but few local items driving turnout.
This time around, the ballot is a full plate: 17 state constitutional amendments, multiple school district measures, and two highly publicized local proposals — Propositions A and B.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew reminded voters to leave the Spurs gear and rodeo shirts at home when heading to the polls.
“Because it specifically mentions them, you can’t wear any of their logoed gear into the polling location,” she said. “It can be considered electioneering.”
Despite no city or county offices being contested on this ballot, Monday’s 10,159 in-person votes represented about 16% of the total early turnout from the 2023 election. That’s still far below the 23,370 in-person votes cast on the first day of the 2024 general election, when Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency.
By mail, another 2,417 ballots were received, bringing Monday’s total to 12,576 votes. As of Oct. 26, total turnout has reached 66,278 ballots cast, up from 62,937 just days earlier.
For comparison, the May 2025 municipal election which featured a crowded 27-person mayoral race — saw 6,519 voters on its opening day of early voting, meaning Monday’s turnout was roughly 44% higher.
Turnout in November elections has generally trended upward over the past decade, growing from around 42,500 early ballots in 2015 to more than 62,000 early in-person votes in 2023.
Bexar County currently lists 1.286 million registered voters, up by more than 63,000 from two years ago.
Early voting continues through October 31.
Election Day is November 4.
