Despite local turnout in the 2024 general election starting strong, it now looks like both Potter and Randall Counties are on track for a slight decrease in turnout from 2020.

So far, across the two counties, there have been 80,124 ballots cast, including 3,792 mail-in and 76,322 early voting ballots. This is down from the 83,3685 early and mail-in votes cast in 2020. Though there are an additional 753 outstanding mail-in ballots, the only way to overcome the decrease in turnout will be a strong boost in Election Day turnout.

In 2020, a total of 14,794 votes were cast on Election Day. Depending on how many outstanding mail-in ballots are received, there will need to be an additional 2,808 to 3,561 votes cast on Election Day above the 2020 total in order to match the overall 2020 turnout. That’s an increase in Election Day voting of anywhere from 18.98% to 24.07%.

In Randall County, there have been 55,741 votes cast so far, compared to the 56,596 mail-in and early voting ballots cast in 2020. This decrease is due to a major decrease in mail-in ballots, with only about half as many being requested this year as were returned in 2020. While mail-in voting is down, early voting turnout in Randall is slightly up, with 53,313 in-person early voting ballots being cast, compared to 51,041 cast in 2020. The increase in daily turnout was even higher, as there were three weeks of early voting in 2020 compared to only two weeks this year.

For Randall to match 2020’s overall turnout, the county will need to see between 8,764 and 9,243 Election Day votes, depending how many of the outstanding mail-in ballots are returned. That would be an increase in Election Day turnout of between 4.48% and 10.19% just to match 2020’s turnout.

The decrease in turnout is more pronounced in Potter County. So far, there have been 24,383 votes cast, compared to the 27,089 mail-in and early voting ballots cast in 2020. Like Randall, Potter County has seen a large decrease in the use of mail-in ballots, with only 1,364 received so far by the county, compared to 3,740 cast in 2020. Unlike Randall, though, Potter County also saw a slight dip in turnout for in-person early voting, with only 23,019 cast this year compared to 23,349 cast in 2020.

In order to match the turnout from 2020, Potter will need to see between 8,838 and 9,112 Election Day votes, depending on how many of the outstanding mail-in ballots are returned. Notably, this means Potter and Randall will need to see roughly the same number of Election Day votes cast, despite Potter having a significantly smaller population. A total of 6,406 Election Day votes were cast in Potter in 2020, meaning they will need to see an increase in turnout of between 36.96% and 42.24% on Election Day to match 2020’s overall turnout.

If you haven’t voted yet, be sure to check out our voter guide and our list of Election Day polling Places. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.