Reply #19: TX: Democratic Race Attracts Early Voters in Record Numbers [View All]

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Feb. 22, 2008, 11:33PM
Democratic race attracts early voters in record numbers
Turnout of early ballots has already exceeded entire voting turnout in 2004 primary


By MATT STILES
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Harris County residents have cast a record number of early ballots this week, propelled largely by a fiercely competitive Democratic presidential contest, elections and political observers say.

After just four days of early voting, which began Tuesday and ends Feb. 29, the number of in-person votes has surpassed the total cast in early voting in the 2004 presidential primary.

As of the end of voting Friday, 50,997 voters — 38,214 Democrats and 12,783 Republicans — had been to the polls. A total of 35,381 voters cast ballots in person during the entire 2004 early voting period.

Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, who can track electronic voting in real time, said she was surprised to see the first-day turnout was nearly three times that of the 2004 primary.

"I've never seen anything like it. I really haven't," she said. "When I looked at 10:30 a.m., and we've already voted 3,000 people, I said, 'Holy cow. We're going to have some turnout.' "

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5563949.html