Texas and Wisconsin Report High Voter Turnout on Election Day
Voters in Texas and Wisconsin cast ballots on November 3, with Bell County reporting historic midterm turnout and Wisconsin seeing a rise in absentee ballots.
Voters across Texas and Wisconsin cast ballots on November 3, 2026, for various offices, including the Wisconsin governorship. The Wisconsin Election Commission reported that 796,607 absentee ballots were returned before Election Day, a 7% increase over the 2022 general election.
In Texas, the Bell County Elections Office reported a historic midterm turnout with more than 101,000 total ballots cast. Officials managed congestion across 42 voting sites using a WaitTimes tool, as some locations experienced waits exceeding 45 minutes before polls closed at 7 p.m.
In Brown County, Elections Administrator Brenda Arp reported that approximately 41% of the county's 26,253 registered voters had cast ballots, totaling 10,753 votes. Arp noted that 8,508 of those votes occurred during the early voting period.
Local activity in Brown County included efforts by residents like Tammy Mackey to vote at the Brookesmith Community Center to ensure the rural site remained open for elderly neighbors. However, Arp clarified that under the Texas Secretary of State's Countywide Polling Place Program, site selection depends on population, transportation, and building availability rather than minimum ballot thresholds.
