Denton County elections administrator Frank Phillips said it’s been smooth sailing for early voting over the past eight days.
Voter turnout numbers have reflected an increase of 7 percent over the 2008 presidential election, as people are casting ballots for local elections and the big draw — the presidential race between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
In 2008, a total of 94,835 county residents cast ballots by the end of the eighth day of early voting. This year, 101,493 residents have voted early in the presidential election.
“It’s been running really smooth. Really good, actually,” Phillips said Friday evening as he waited for residents to finish at the polls.
He said the larger polling sites in Carrollton, Flower Mound and Denton have been packed. Phillips said he timed people in one of the longest lines and it took them 18 minutes to get through and into a voting booth.
“People have been really cooperative everywhere. Everyone seems to be in a good mood and [they] don’t mind waiting a few minutes to vote.”
Each day — except for Sunday — more than 12,000 ballots have been cast. Two days saw more than 14,000 ballots cast, while Saturday brought in 16,335 voters.
Voters have until 7 p.m. Friday to cast early ballots. The general election will be held Tuesday.
BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .
EARLY VOTING TURNOUT TOTALS
Day | Voters |
Oct. 22 | 12,299 |
Oct. 23 | 13,741 |
Oct. 24 | 12,630 |
Thursday | 12,273 |
Friday | 14,469 |
Saturday | 16,335 |
Sunday | 5,467 |
Monday | 14,279 |
SOURCE: Denton County Elections Administration
