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Sunday, March 2, 2008
County’s Democratic early vote turnout 7.3 times higher than 2004
Democratic Party primary voting in McLennan County is up — way up. In fact, it’s 7.3 times higher than 2004.
It’s up on the Republican side, too, at 1.8 times higher than 2004. But the red hot presidential nomination contest between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton is driving Democrats to the polls in droves.
When early voting ended on Friday, 8,238 Democrats had cast a ballot in the primary. That’s 634.9 percent higher than 2004’s 1,121 Democratic early vote turnout. On the Republican side 6,124 early voters turned out, totaling an 87.2 percent increase from 2004.
Of course, the big difference from 2004 is that Crawford resident George W. Bush is not seeking another term in office and neither Obama or Clinton has enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. In 2004, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., was already deemed the presumed nominee of the Democratic Party by the time Texas held its primary.
Out of the county’s five early vote locations, Democrats beat Republican turnout by the largest margins at the Multipurpose Community Center in East Waco and the McLennan County Elections Administration Office in downtown Waco. Republican turnout bested Democratic turnout at the First Assembly of God Church voting location in West Waco and at Robinson City Hall.
Here’s the breakdown for this year’s early vote totals:
Mailed ballots
D: 443, R: 283
First Assembly of God Church, 6701 Bosque Blvd.
D: 3,171, R: 3,769
Multipurpose Community Center, 1020 Elm St.
D: 944, R: 41
Lacy-Lakeview Civic Center, 503 E. Craven Ave.
D: 829, R: 355
McLennan County Elections Administration Office, Records Building, 214 North Fourth St., Suite 300
D: 2,179, R: 1,020
Robinson City Hall, 111 W. Lyndale Ave.
D: 622, R: 656
Grand total 2008:
D: 8,238, R: 6,124
Grand total 2004:
D: 1,121, R: 3,271
