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Another Record Turnout

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Jerry Phillips, an Inspector for precinct 24, looks on as Jim Smith, a Sheriff, asks Highlands County Supervisor of Elections Joe Campbell a question during a poll worker review meeting at the Agri-Civic Center Thursday evening in Sebring.

By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: November 1, 2008

Back in the days of the hanging chad, Highlands County voters turned out in record numbers for Bush and Gore: 68.3 percent.

In 2004, they were allowed to vote two weeks early, so the turnout for Bush-Kerry was even better: 70 percent.

This year, Barack Obama and John McCain supporters have enlisted crowds of new voters. In Highlands County alone, there are 5,916 more registrations than the previous presidential election.

Before early balloting, Elections Supervisor Joe Campbell predicted a 75 percent turnout this time. "I think I'll stick with that," he said Thursday.

"I might go higher," guessed his assistant, Norma Stokes. "If Election Day is anything like early turnout and absentee balloting, it might be higher."

This is also a record year for early balloting, Stokes said. Stokes and Campbell think as many as 45 percent of the electorate will have cast ballots before the 12-day early voting period ends Sunday.

By 7 p.m. Wednesday, 15,273 early votes had been cast. Add the 8,648 absentee ballots requested, and the total was up to 32.2 percent with Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday still to go.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, lines were short. One couple said it took only 10 minutes to vote. Last week, when early voting began, the long waits were 30 minutes, Stokes said.

National Picture

Which candidate has benefited most from early voting?

The Associated Press said Democrats are dominating early voting in Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico and Colorado, all states won by President Bush in 2004.

George Mason University Professor Michael McDonald, whose Web site is counting early votes, said 17.3 million Americans had cast ballots by Wednesday, including 2.6 million in Florida, 2.4 million in Texas and about 1.8 million in North Carolina and 1.4 million in Georgia. Bush won all four in 2004 and 2000.

Registered Democrats are more enthused than registered Republicans in all 10 states that have reported early turnout by party affiliation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The data is on McDonald's Web site, elections.gmu.edu/early_vote_2008.html

A Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll said 59 percent of early voters had backed Obama, 40 percent supported McCain - a mirror image of the 2004 and 2000 elections. However, both those elections were won by Republicans.

Ohio doesn't register its voters by party, and other big swing states - including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin - don't vote early, creating an incomplete picture of the election map.

Nevada reports that 54 percent of Democrats have voted early in the Las Vegas area, compared to 30 percent by Republicans.

The numbers are closest in Colorado, where Democrats cast 39 percent of the 1 million early votes, and Republicans filed 38 percent.

However, the GOP is trying a massive get-out-the-vote campaign. Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is mailing 200 million flyers. Volunteers are knocking on doors and calling likely voters. "We will have ... over a quarter of a billion contacts."

Voter Turnout

YearRegisteredBallotsPercent

VotersCast

200052,94136,15868.3

200460,17641,87170.0

200866,092

Source: Highlands County Election Office

Registered Voters

Republicans28,671

Democrats26,383

Others11,038

Total66,092