Nearly 1 in 4 registered voters in Fort Bend County cast a ballot during the first week of early voting, a higher share than Harris County's record-breaking pace, ABC13 reported Oct. 24.

That puts Fort Bend ahead of its much larger neighbor, where about 1 in 5 registered voters had voted and no midterm since 1998 had started faster. Statewide, more than 3.5 million Texans voted in the first five days, according to ABC13.

Fort Bend voters are choosing between Republican Daniel Wong and Democrat Dexter McCoy for county judge. The county judge presides over Commissioners Court and oversees the budget, roads, public safety and emergency management.

Wong has served as interim county judge since April, when a visiting judge suspended former County Judge KP George following his felony money-laundering conviction, Houston Public Media reported. George was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years of probation and formally removed from office in June, according to Covering Katy.

McCoy, the Precinct 4 commissioner elected in 2022, is campaigning on affordability and infrastructure. Wong is running on restoring public trust, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"Every vote counts, and if voters are concerned about roads, bridges, taxes, public safety, emergency response, and health services, then they should pay careful attention to the County Judge race," Wong told the Houston Chronicle.

The federal indictment of Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner added political turbulence during the voting period. Federal prosecutors announced Oct. 22 that Turner faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and theft of government funds. Prosecutors allege she hired two county employees who did not perform their jobs: one allegedly served as a full-time caregiver for Turner's 81-year-old mother, and another allegedly collected Fort Bend paychecks while working full time at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Houston Public Media reported.

Turner, a Democrat first elected in 2020, was reelected in 2024 by about 2,000 votes. Wong called her arrest "a stunning reminder of the cloud of corruption that has hung over Fort Bend County for too long," according to Houston Public Media. McCoy said public corruption has no place in Fort Bend regardless of party, the Texas Tribune reported.

The first-day numbers showed the scale of the rush. Fort Bend's election office reported 31,793 in-person check-ins on Oct. 19, nearly doubling the first-day total from the 2022 midterm, Fox 26 reported. By Oct. 21, more than 60,000 had voted in person, according to the Fort Bend County Elections Administration, as ABC13 reported. That two-day figure nearly doubled the same period in 2022.

At the top of the ballot, the U.S. Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico is also drawing voters. University of Houston political science expert Nancy Sims told ABC13 the competitive Senate contest is one reason for the record turnout, though she cautioned "it's a little hard to extrapolate" what the numbers mean.

In-person early voting runs through Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.