Early voting in Louisiana shatters records from 4 years ago

Published 10:55 am Wednesday, November 2, 2016

<span class="RACopyBody">BATON ROUGE — Louisiana voters turned out in record numbers during early voting, surprising the state’s top elections official who had worried the animosity of the presidential race could cause a voting slump.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Instead, Secretary of State Tom Schedler says voters’ anger about the presidential candidates seems to be driving people to the polls in Louisiana.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">More than 515,000 voters cast their ballots early in Louisiana’s weeklong early voting period. That’s 17 percent of the state’s 3 million registered voters. By comparison, nearly 357,000 people early voted for the presidential election four years ago.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Schedler described the numbers released Wednesday as "staggering." He’s predicting a statewide voter turnout for next week’s election that could top the 68 percent level of the 2012 presidential election and reach as high as 70 percent.</span><p>(MGNonline)</p>