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Waller County reporting high voter turnout, possibly one of the largest in years

Election officials said the line to vote wrapped around the building with some voters waiting more than an hour to cast their ballot.

WALLER COUNTY, Texas — More than six million Texans have cast their ballots for the November 3 election. That's more than a third of Texas' 16.9 million registered voters. Over in Waller County, polling places are being filled with a younger generation of voters.

"This year, it's been four or five times more people voting than they have in the past," said Waller County Democratic Party Chairman, Ben Tibbs. He said voters were lined up around the building and some had to wait more than an hour to cast their ballots. "I'm really proud of Waller County, no matter how they voted."

Across Texas, but especially in small areas like Waller County, the early voter turnout has been some of the largest numbers they've seen for an election in years.

Tibbs said the final days of early voting leading up to Election Day could be the largest voter turnout this county has seen since 2008. "Those few days we’re going to see another push - big push - at the polls. Then the day of the election, I think is just going to be overwhelming."

Kimberly Johnson, who works as a Waller County poll worker said out of all the voting locations in the county, the location near Prairie View A&M had almost 500 ballots cast the first day of early voting. 

"It was full," Johnson said. "I think we had here alone 497 [ballots]."

Shuttles took students from Prairie View A&M to and from the polls. It was an effort to help students make sure they could vote and it's resulting in big numbers for early voting, election officials said. This week alone, the Waller County Community Center has seen an increase in Prairie View student voters.

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