Turnout

• As of the second day of early voting in 2004, 4.3% of the electorate in Texas's 15 most populous counties had voted.
• As of the second day of early voting in 2008, 7.2% of the electorate has already voted.

I have absolutely no idea what to make of this figure. So far turnout is up the most in Houston, San Antonio, Fort Bend, and suburban Austin. There appears to be modest correlation (r = .57) between the size of the increase in early voting and Barack Obama's performance in the Texas primary. This is mixed news for Rick Noriega, who probably needs a bigger turnout from the border counties than what he's getting, but who is at least getting a big boost in Houston.