Early Voting Up at Record-Setting Levels in Swing States, But Down in Texas

Early Voting in Texas is way down

After seeing record early voting numbers in places like Nevada and Iowa, more than 150,000 fewer people voted early in the nation's second most populous state this year than in 2008, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. That theme could signal a lower turnout overall in the state.

[ALSO READ:Obama, Romney Look to Bank Thousands of Ballots with Early Voting]

The state of Colorado has already received 1.5 million early votes and its secretary of state is expecting to see a possible 2.7 million mail-in ballots, representing 70 percent of the state's voters.

In Texas, by contrast, the percentage of registered voters who voted early fell from 42 percent in 2008 to 39.3 percent this year. That is still a big increase compared to 2004, when 29.6 percent voted early.

[ALSO READ:Texas Becomes U.S. State with Largest Prison Population]

Polls indicate Mitt Romney and Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz will win handily, which may have affected voter turnout in the former Republic.

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