Don't mess with our data 🤠: A Texas Primary roundup

Two days ago, Texas held one of the first primary elections of 2026. Voters were tasked with choosing between candidates in a staggering number of races, many of them with voting margins thinner than 1 percent.

Democracy is no small feat, and the Sway team spent time on the ground with voters and leaders to ensure our platform met the moment. Here are three things we did to help voters influence election day in Texas:

Sway turned out voters at an extremely high rate.

Several thousand voters in Texas created accounts on Sway (we’ll call them “Sway voters”). 68.3% cast ballots during the early voting period. In contrast, statewide early voting turnout was around 13.7%. The county-level breakdown is no less impressive:

These are all the counties with a strong Sway presence; Sway voters often voted at several times the rate as non-Sway voters. Hover over any dot to see county-level turnout details.

Sway empowered voting group leaders to sway elections in their favor.

In a state where local elections run very tight margins, it’s no wonder that the number of Sway voters exceeds the margin of a countywide race in thirteen counties in Texas. See which ones below:

Hover over any bubble to see Sway user count and the closest race in that county. Zoom and pan to explore.

Strong turnout and tight margins are great news for anyone with an issue they care about. When a voting group amasses a verified following on Sway, this doesn’t just comprise voters who can vote in the races you want to affect; more likely than not, they will vote in these races. And sometimes, they'll change the result of that race entirely.

A “following” is no longer theoretical. On Sway, you have concrete proof of why your voting group matters—for changing elections, and for influencing your elected officials.

Sway helped voters figure out how to vote.

In primary elections, parties do not make endorsements. Voters must figure out ahead of time how to choose between hundreds of candidates.

Voters need a shortcut—if not a party, someone they can trust.

Sway helped them find that someone. Whether it was the neighborhood mom, or the resident political junkie.

With Texas banning phones from voting booths, voters faced an extra challenge: how to remember their choices. Some voters we talked to wrote down their preferences by hand. Others took screenshots and printed them, one by one.

That’s why we made it possible for each voter to print their personalized ballot, combining every recommendation from every leader they follow into the ultimate voting cheat sheet. We heard from plenty of voters who used this feature, and who delighted in it. 

High turnout, concrete evidence tying issues to election results, and well-informed voters: this is politics at its best. We’re now three primaries down, and with 47 more to go. 

If you’re in one of those 47 states, build your Sway voting group now.