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Highlands Today

Voter Turnout Higher Than Expected

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

From left: Canvassing board members Edgar Stokes and Anthony Ritenour open and straighten absentee ballots on Tuesday at the Supervisor of Elections office in Sebring.

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: January 30, 2008

SEBRING — By 2 p.m., almost 29 percent of Highlands County's registered voters had gone to the polls, which impressed officials of both political parties.

"I think that's impressive," said Marian Perrin, who serves on the Democratic steering committee.

Highlands County has 63,118 registered voters. Assistant Supervisors of Elections Norma Stokes said 18,116 had voted, which included early voters and absentee ballots.

"That seems to be pretty good," Stokes said.

In South Carolina, a 25 percent turnout broke state records. Michigan reported a 20 percent turnout for its presidential primary. An estimated 60 percent of New Hampshire voted.

"I expected a big turnout," said Justine Devlin, chairwoman, of the Republican Party of Highlands County. "When you've got a race everyone keeps telling you is a dead heat ..."

"I hope it's like this all over the state," said Robert Garcia, of Sebring,who was at the GOP headquarters on Tuesday.

Several voters came to the GOP office complaining they were registered as independent, and couldn't vote in the Republican primary.

"That's been the biggest problem," Devlin said. "They were angry."

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