Which Texas counties have the highest voter turnout rates?
Executive summary
Loving County recorded the highest turnout in recent Texas off‑year elections, with about 65.7% (or “more than half” of its roughly 140 registered voters) participating in the Nov. 4, 2025 constitutional amendment election [1] [2]. Larger urban counties posted much lower percentages: statewide turnout was roughly 15% (~2.9 million voters), while Travis was about 25% and Dallas reported about 15.6% of its 1.4 million registered voters [2] [3] [4].
1. Tiny counties can top the charts — Loving County’s unusually high percentage
Loving County led the state in turnout by percentage in the Nov. 4, 2025 election, with KXAN reporting 65.7% turnout and the Houston Chronicle noting “more than half” of the county’s roughly 140 registered voters cast ballots [1] [2]. That number reflects the volatility of percentages in extremely small electorates: a handful of ballots can swing a county from low to top in statewide rankings [2].
2. Bigger counties: large electorates, modest percentages
By contrast, populous counties produced much lower turnout rates: Dallas County’s election office estimated about 15.6% of its 1.4 million registered voters had voted by early evening on Election Day [3]. Travis County—home to Austin—saw about 25% turnout tied to a high‑profile local ballot question that drove voters to the polls [2]. Statewide, roughly 15% of registered Texans voted, with nearly 2.9–3.0 million ballots cast in that off‑year election [4] [2].
3. Off‑year and constitutional amendment elections shape the turnout pattern
The Nov. 4, 2025 vote was a constitutional amendment election, an off‑year contest class that historically produces lower turnout than presidential or midterm years. The Texas secretary of state said the 2023 constitutional amendment election hit 14.4% — the highest for that kind of election since 2005 — and 2025’s nearly 15% continued that pattern of relatively low off‑year participation compared with even‑year contests [5] [6] [4].
4. Geographic contrasts: many small rural counties top percentage lists
Local reporting and interactive maps show that multiple small or rural counties can exceed 30% turnout in these elections; KXAN noted nine counties surpassed 30% in its viewing area and that Brown County was the next highest after Loving at 42.5% [1]. The pattern reflects how county size and local ballot dynamics (e.g., contested local races or high‑interest propositions) drive turnout differences [1] [2].
5. Absolute votes differ from percentage leaders — urban counties supply raw totals
While tiny counties can top percentage lists, they contribute few ballots to the statewide total; Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar counties have the largest numbers of registered voters and therefore supply the bulk of votes even when their percentage turnout is average or below average [7]. For example, Harris County has more than 2.6 million registered voters, while Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar each exceed 1 million registrations [7].
6. What drives county variation — local issues and election timing
Reporting ties higher turnout in specific counties to local contests and ballot measures that mobilize voters: Travis County’s 25% turnout was linked to a contentious local property tax vote, and other local decisions drove turnout in multiple jurisdictions [2]. State analysis also notes that off‑cycle local elections typically depress participation and that consolidating elections to uniform November dates was a legislative aim because scattered off‑cycle contests “usually feature extremely low voter turnout” [8].
7. Limitations, data sources and what isn’t shown
Official county-by‑county turnout figures are maintained by the Texas Secretary of State and local election offices; the Secretary’s historical and county pages provide the underlying data [9] [10]. Available sources here report highlights — percentage leaders, statewide totals and examples — but do not provide a complete ranked list of all 254 counties in a single table in these excerpts; a full county ranking would require consulting the Secretary of State county returns or the KXAN interactive map referenced [9] [1] [10].
8. Bottom line — percentages favor small counties; totals favor big ones
Recent reporting makes the pattern clear: very small counties such as Loving can top turnout percentage lists (65.7%), several small/rural counties can exceed 30%, while large urban counties register lower percentages but supply the vast majority of ballots to the statewide total of roughly 2.9 million (~15% turnout) [1] [2] [4]. For a definitive county ranking, consult the Secretary of State’s county returns or the KXAN county turnout interactive cited in local coverage [9] [1] [10].