Stats du jour: Texas turnout

More than 4.8 million Texans cast ballots during the first week of early voting. 

• About 27% of registered voters in Dallas-Fort Worth have already voted. 

Why it matters: This is the last week of early voting. Polls are open 7am-7pm through Friday. Dallas County sites will stay open one hour longer, until 8pm.

• Check your county's website for polling locations and a sample ballot: Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County, Rockwall County and Tarrant County.

Zoom out: The state has about 1.7 million more registered voters this election than during the 2020 presidential race. 

• Turnout during the first few days of early voting lagged records set in 2020, when voters had six extra days to cast ballots due to the pandemic, per the Texas Tribune. 

Zoom in: Denton County is an outlier. The county has set early voting records with more than 35% of registered voters having already mailed in a ballot or voted in person through Saturday. 

• The county was the only one in North Texas to keep voting sites open until 7pm last week, giving voters an extra 15 hours at polling locations. 
• Staying open later is especially important for people who work traditional hours, Denton County elections administrator Frank Phillips tells Axios. 

• "Also, the more people who vote early means that many less on Election Day, which helps mitigate issues with long lines on Election Day," Phillips says. 

By the numbers: Dallas County has the lowest early voting turnout among major Texas counties.

• About 22% of registered Dallas County voters had cast a ballot in person in the first six days of early voting.
• Meanwhile, about 32% of registered Collin County voters and 26% of Tarrant County voters have.