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By Dawn Burleigh

Six days into Early Voting and the turnout remains strong.

As of Monday evening, a total of 14,820 residents have voted. Of those, 13,576 voted in person.

Mailed in ballots total 1,164.

During the last presidential election, 22,751 persons voted in Early voting, 43-percent of the 53,040 registered voters in Orange County at the time. A total of 31,848 voted in the on election that year.

In 2018, a record number of persons voted in the election with an unprecedented 51-percent of the registered voters turning out to make sure their voices were heard. Of those, 32-percent, 16,678 voted in early voting.

The slowest day at the polls was Saturday, Oct. 17 with a total of 1,398 persons. The highest turnout was on the first day with 3,120 voters.

There are still nine days left of early voting, so the numbers are expected to get historically higher.

The polls will be open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wed. Oct. 21 – Oct. 24 and Mon. Oct. 26 – Friday, Oct. 30. On Tuesdays, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 the polls will have extended hours and be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Early Voting for the General Election will take place at Orange Public Library located at 220 North 5^th Street in Orange, Orange County Airport located at 2640 State Hwy. 87 in Orange, Orange County Expo Center located at 11475-B Farm to Market Road 1442 in Orange and Raymond Gould Community Center located at 385 Claiborne in Vidor.

The early voting period was extended this year due to COVID-19 protocols.

On the ballots, voters will not only have the option to vote for the presidential election, but also local elections originally scheduled earlier this year but also postponed due to the pandemic.

Sample ballots can be found at https://www.co.orange.tx.us/departments/ElectionsAdministration/SampleBallots