Election 2008

More Democrats vote early
Nearly 14,000 ballots already cast in county
by Chuck Slothower
Herald Staff Writer

Nearly 14,000 voters in La Plata County have cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, with Democrats turning out in greater numbers.

Statewide, 49 percent of voters have already turned in their ballots. The statistics from the Colorado Secretary of State's office are as of Friday morning.

In La Plata County, 5,652 Democrats have voted, compared with 4,479 Republicans. Across Colorado, 488,575 Democrats have voted, outpacing the 465,869 Republicans who have voted in an election highlighted by the race to capture the state's nine electoral votes for the presidency.

Totals include mail-in ballots that have been received as well as early voters. The figures count ballots submitted by party registration. They do not indicate which candidate voters chose.
Early voting ended Friday, but mail-in ballots will continue to flow in.
Jean Walter, chairwoman of the county Democratic Party, credited the Forward Colorado campaign for increasing turnout. Forward Colorado is a Colorado Democratic Party campaign working on behalf of the candidates for president, U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

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