Texans have already cast more early ballots ahead of next week’s election than they did during all of 2016.

That signals an unprecedented surge of voting in a state that was once the country’s most reliably Republican but may be drifting toward legitimate battleground status.

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More than 9 million ballots have been cast as of Friday in the nation’s second most-populous state, exceeding the 8.9 million cast in 2016, according to an Associated Press tally of early votes.

This year’s numbers were aided by early voting being extended a week amid the pandemic.

—KXXV