The first day of early voting in Polk County was busier than ever for election staff.
By 4 p.m., 550 people had cast ballots at the Polk County Election Office. In 2008, 100 people voted on the first day but that number had been far eclipsed by 11 a.m.
Of those, 401 were registered Democrats, 90 were Republicans, 57 had no party affiliation and two were affiliated with other parties, said Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald.
He could not say who people had actually voted for.
After an initial two-hour rush when the polls opened at 8 a.m. that led to hour-long wait times and was largely a function of Obama campaign efforts, the office saw a steady stream of people throughout the day, Fitzgerald said.
Original story:
The first ballots are in, and judging from the myriad of Obama stickers, buttons, signs and campaign volunteers enthusiastically trawling down the line in front of the election office, in Polk County most of the ballots so far were for President Barack Obama.
But don't be fooled, said GOP representatives. Two hours on the first day of early voting won't necessarily be representative of the 40 days of early voting or the general election.
Picture: Bill Brown of Des Moines, center, voteswith an absentee ballot at the Polk County Election Office Thursdsay morning in Des Moines, Sept. 27, 2012. (Rodney White/The Des Moines Register)
And a push to get Mitt Romney voters to the polls is coming.
Still, several people waiting outside the Polk County Election Office Thursday morning said they wanted to make a statement with their votes.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to be out, to cast a vote for the president and to say we're with him and that he's doing a great job," said Mary Madison of Des Moines, who was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
Madison, who was wearing two Obama buttons, said she usually makes a point of going to the polls on election day but was fed up with this year's campaign tactics.
"This makes a statement," she said. "I'm willing to do that."
By about 11 a.m., Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald estimated about 200-225 people had cast votes. During the 2008 election, the office saw just 100 ballots cast the entire first day of early voting.
No breakdown of the votes was available yet.
It took voters an average of 55 minutes from the moment they stepped into the office to cast their vote and leave, Fitzgerald said. But he heard no complaints and everything ran smoothly.
Most of the people in the line that stretched down the block before the polls even opened said they had been invited by volunteers on the phone to meet at a nearby coffee shop and walk to the polls together.
The first voters started lining up around 7:15 a.m. and most of the group members were in the office's doors by 10 a.m., though Fitzgerald said a line had formed again an hour later.
Mark Cooper, who wore no Obama bling but sported a union name on his sweatshirt was first in line.
Cooper didn't have much to say about being first in the county to vote – it was "no big deal," he said – but more to say about why he was supporting Obama. And he said the turnout, while expected, was "great."
"I think we need to open up the election process and make it as easy to vote as possible," Cooper said.
Democrats have an advantage in absentee ballots requested by mail in both Polk County and statewide.
The Polk County Auditor's Office is mailing 30,615 ballots Thursday morning. Of those, 20,810 were requested by Democrats, 4,024 by registered Republicans, 5,729 by voters with no party affiliation and 42 by people registered to other parties.
Statewide, as of Monday, Democrats had requested 109,709 absentee ballots while Republicans requested 20,458.
Democrats have been making a concerted push to turn out voters as early as possible, pushing neighborhood canvassing and labor union vote drives to pick up votes before Election Day, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky told the Des Moines Register earlier this week.
Meanwhile Matt Strawn, a former Iowa GOP party chairman, said the Republican strategy is different. They will make a big
Source: Moines Des
IMOH, Patrick E.
+234 803 616 2613
+234 802 846 3657
No comments:
Post a Comment