Which Texas counties had the highest voter turnout in the 2024 general election?
Executive summary
County turnout peaked in some of Texas’s smallest counties: KXAN and statewide trackers list multiple rural counties above 75% turnout — King County hit 81.82% and Borden County 79.67% — while KXAN notes 14 counties surpassed 75% turnout and the statewide total was about 61.23% with 11,403,003 ballots cast out of roughly 18.6 million registered voters [1]. Local trackers also recorded very high rates in pockets — Mason County 77.21% in the KXAN viewing area — and other outlets highlighted Llano and Blanco among regional leaders during early reporting [2] [1].
1. Small counties drove the highest turnout numbers
The highest turnout rates reported statewide came from very small, rural counties where turnout percentages often exceed those in big urban counties: KXAN’s post-election roundup says King County recorded the top turnout at 81.82% and Borden County 79.67%, and that 14 counties exceeded 75% turnout [1]. Those counties have small registration bases, so a relatively modest number of ballots moves their percentage dramatically; KXAN explicitly frames these as local high-water marks within its 15-county viewing area [1].
2. Statewide context: lots of registrants, lower percentage than 2020
State officials and press outlets reported a historic 18.6 million registered Texans in 2024, with about 11.3 million to 11.4 million casting ballots for an overall turnout in the low 60% range (AP/SOS figures cited by news outlets): the Texas Tribune and Houston Public Media place turnout at about 61% (11.3 million of 18.6 million) and KXAN’s summary gives 11,403,003 votes and 61.23% turnout [3] [4] [1]. Several outlets stress that this is a decline from 2020’s surge but still high by pre-2020 standards [3].
3. Urban vs. rural split: big counties lagged, suburbs and rural rose
Reporting by the Texas Tribune, Houston Public Media and the Express-News highlights a clear geographic pattern: turnout dipped most in large urban counties — Harris, Bexar and Dallas — while many suburban and rural counties saw smaller declines or even increases [3] [4] [5]. The Express-News and TexasCounties analysis say turnout in Anglo-majority suburban and rural counties was higher in 2024, whereas turnout fell in the most populous urban counties [5] [6].
4. Early-voting trackers showed where turnout was strongest during the run-up
Daily early-voting trackers from the Secretary of State and outlets like the Houston Chronicle, KXAN and local sites flagged counties with above-average early participation — Llano and Blanco were called out in regional trackers, and MyHighPlains reported Llano at the top of its local list during early voting [2] [1]. The Statesman and other outlets noted more than 9 million ballots cast during early voting — about 48% turnout at that early-voting snapshot — indicating early activity was concentrated in some counties [7].
5. Why small-county percentages can be misleading
High percentage turnout in tiny counties does not equate to large numbers of votes: King and Borden Counties have very small voter rolls, so their 80% numbers reflect small absolute counts. Transparency and local reporting (KXAN and county official sites) underline that county-by-county percentages should be read alongside registered-voter totals to understand impact on statewide totals [1] [8].
6. What the official sources say and gaps in reporting
The Texas Secretary of State publishes county registration and turnout figures (historical and current) that underlie media trackers, but many media summaries cite aggregated or provisional numbers; KXAN, Tribune and others rely on SOS data for county maps and percentages [9] [1] [3]. Available sources do not mention a single definitive, fully ranked 1–254 county list in these search results; instead, local outlets highlight the highest-percentage counties and statewide totals [1] [3]. For a complete ranked table, consult the SOS site’s county turnout files noted in their Election Results/Data page [9].
7. Bottom line and how to get a full list
If you want the authoritative, ordered list of which Texas counties had the highest turnout in 2024, the Secretary of State’s county-level turnout files are the primary source [9]. For quick reporting context: multiple small rural counties reported turnout above 75% — King (81.82%), Borden (79.67%) and local highs like Mason (77.21%) — while statewide turnout was roughly 61% (about 11.4 million ballots) and urban counties recorded the largest drops versus 2020 [1] [3] [4].
Limitations: this summary relies on media compilations and regional trackers in the provided sources; those cite SOS data but the complete ranked county list (1–254) was not directly included in the search results provided here [9] [1].