Early voting for the Democratic and Republican primary runoffs wraps up Friday, with less than 3% of registered voters casting ballots so far.
Early voting polls close between 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, depending on location. Eligible voters can go to whatever polling place is most convenient for them.
Election Day is Tuesday, May 26. Eligible voters can cast ballots at any El Paso County vote center between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Voters who cast ballots in the March 3 primary can only vote in the party runoff corresponding to their March vote. People who are registered to vote but didn’t cast a ballot in the primary can choose which party runoff to participate in.
The runoffs will settle party contests from the March 3 primary election in which no candidates received more than 50% of the vote.
ELECTION 2026 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the May 26 primary runoffs in El Paso
The most prominent race is the Republican primary between incumbent John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton for one of Texas’ two seats in the U.S. Senate. President Donald Trump this week endorsed Paxton.
The winner will face Democrat James Talarico in the November general election.
El Paso Republicans also will choose their nominee in the 16th Congressional District race and help the state GOP select a nominee for attorney general.
El Paso Democrats don’t have a high-profile race on their runoff ballot, but they will select nominees for two judgeships and five justice of the peace elections, along with statewide races to nominate candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Runoffs historically draw much lower turnouts than the first round of voting, especially when few high-profile positions are on the ballot. That’s holding true this year.
Through Thursday, 14,353 El Pasoans had cast runoff ballots, or 2.7% of registered voters.
As has become typical in elections across the country, Democrats are far more likely to cast mail-in ballots than Republicans. In Texas, use of mail-in ballots is generally restricted to people over 65 or with disabilities.
Through Thursday, 35% of El Paso County Democratic runoff votes were cast by mail, compared to 12% of Republican ballots.
The post El Paso runoff election turnout remains low as early voting wraps up Friday appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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