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Posted: January 29, 2008 6:51 PM
Early Voting Could Give Florida Record Turnout
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Floridians voted in large numbers in early voting and at the polls on Tuesday, an elections official said Tuesday evening.

“We’re starting to get reports that it’s been pretty steady throughout the state,” Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of State, told the Online NewsHour. “Miami-Dade and Broward counties were a little higher than expected.”

By Saturday, 875,000 early and absentee ballots were cast in the primaries. Of those, 470,000 were by Republicans and 404,000 were by Democrats. Ivey did not have any updated numbers for Sunday voting or absentee ballots that have arrived since then.

“We feel comfortable saying that over a million voters cast a ballot before Election Day,” Ivey said.

Those numbers could set a record, the Miami Herald reported.

“The last time there was a contested presidential primary on both the Republican and Democratic sides, only about 19 percent of Florida voters, or 1.34 million, cast ballots,” the paper reported.

Some minor problems were reported Tuesday in Florida with polling places opening late and voters getting the wrong ballot, but no major systematic problems with machines or polling places emerged.

“Everything’s been running well today,” Ivey said.

The state’s absentee and early voting ballots will be counted as soon as the polls close, he said. Results from the smaller counties should be announced shortly after polls close at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. EST for the panhandle counties.

Counties with larger populations may not announce returns until as late as 10 p.m.