The big counties usually account for about 60 percent of total voting, and the Texas Secretary of State estimates two million Texans cast their ballots before Election Day.

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Only Montgomery County had more Republican voters than Democrats, among these top 14 counties. Several reliably Republican counties — Williamson, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, and Tarrant — had more Democrats in the early vote than Republicans.

Tidbits:

• Democratic voting was 460 percent higher this year than in the 2004 presidential primary.

• Republican voting was no slouch, rising 187 percent over its 2004 mark.

• In raw numbers, 712,597 more people voted in the Democratic primary this year; 196,165 more voted in the GOP primary.

• The smallest percentage increase in the Democratic turnout was in Hidalgo County — up 71 percent over four years ago. But that county led the state four years ago in raw turnout. This year, the top spot went to the state's most populous county — Harris.

• The smallest increase on the GOP side? It was 32 percent, in Williamson County, where Democratic primary voting rose 802 percent and surpassed GOP voting, to the surprise of both parties.

• Early voting in the top counties approached, but didn't match, early voting in the 2004 general election (when turnout is historically much higher). But several counties did better in this primary than in that general, including Harris, El Paso, Hidalgo, Fort Bend, and Nueces.

• Combine the primaries and look at the turnout: The biggest percentage increase among the big counties was in Fort Bend, up 673 percent. Increases in Dallas nad Tarrant counties also surpassed 600 percent. The littlest overall increase? Hidalgo, up 74.5 percent.