Poll watchers seeing near-record turnout

Written by Donald Eng
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 14:37

More than 3,200 voters had cast ballots by 9:45 this morning, according to numbers compiled from poll volunteers. That number is nearly 40% of the entire turnout from the 2007 municipal elections.

"We really won't know for sure until we get our 3 p.m. numbers, but it looks like turnout is very high across the

board," said Democratic strategist and school board member Steve Wright. "You can't really complain if the turnout's good. And it's a nice day, too. Sunny and mild is Democrat weather."

Across town, at GOP headquarters, Herbst campaign spokesman Chris Russo was also crunching numbers.

"Turnout is off the charts in the most reliable Republican districts, so I hope that's good news for us," he said.

Russo said Republican poll watchers reported heavy turnout among senior citizens, which Russo said may indicate that the GOP message about property taxes had hit home.