Early voting in US state of Texas eclipses 2016 totals

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - More people have voted early in the US state of Texas this year than all of those who cast ballots in 2016, a running tally compiled by the US Elections Project said Friday.

This year, 9,009,850 people have voted early, surpassing the 8,969,226 who voted in the last presidential election.

Most of those who have voted early in Texas have done so in-person -- 8,062,615. Less than a million others have used mail-in balloting in the state ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Texas has a long history of voting Republican, but it has become more competitive in recent years with a surging Latino population that has made a Democratic victory in the state a real, if long-shot, possibility.

US President Donald Trump won the state handily in 2016, besting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by nine points.

A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted this week found the president's margin has narrowed considerably with less than a week to go before Election Day. Of over 800 likely voters, 47% said they would vote for Trump, compared to 43% who said they would do so for Biden.

The margin was even smaller in a University of Massachusetts-Lowell poll that found Trump's lead to be a razor-thin 1%.

Sen, Kamala Harris, Biden's running mate, is slated to visit Texas on Friday in a bid to ramp up support.