With several contested races on the ballot, voter turnout is still low for early voting in the primary election.

According to YourBasin.com, officials from both counties have said that this is the lowest voter turnout that involves the race for governor.

Ector County has just under 75,000 registered voters and have only seen 2,323 turn out for early voting.

Midland County has over 81,000 registered voters and have only seen 2,850 turn out for early voting.

Even though it is not a Presidential election, this primary will determine the candidates for Governor in November and also will elect positions in commissioners court and county judges in both counties.

The races have become highly contested with mudslinging campaigns being run by some candidates.

No one is sure if that is the cause of the low voter turnout, but most people in West Texas are turned off by negative smear campaigns run by candidates in the past.

Negative or not one thing is sure, the decisions made in the primary elections will determine who becomes a vote and the voice in Austin for those of us in the Permian Basin.

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