I may be outside the country, but I still try to keep tabs on events in my home in Socorro, New Mexico. The local paper, El Defensor Chieftain, is published twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and is available online.
So imagine my surprise and delight to read the following top story headline:
Early voters smash record
Now, Socorro County is not one of the more populated counties, but if my calculations are correct, more than 10% of the eligible voting population has already turned out for early voting.
That's saying something.
According to Census Bureau information, in 2006, Socorro County had an estimated population of 18,240 people. Of this number, 25% are under the age of 18. So, deducting that 25% leaves approximately 13,680 folks of voting age, and of those presumably eligible voters, 11.5% have already have voted early:
"It's absolutely crazy," County Clerk Audrey Jaramillo said. "We've never had this many people vote early."
As of 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, 1,572 county residents had cast early ballots with the clerk. With the Nov. 1 cutoff date quickly approaching, Jaramillo said she's tickled pink by the local participation.
Unfortunately, I don't have the exact number of registered voters in Socorro County, but using my assumptions, it's pretty damn impressive the number of people who have already voted in this mostly rural county.
Now, we all know that not every person eligible to vote actually does. Nevertheless, it is clear that the voters of New Mexico are coming out for early voting. Our own fbihop recently posted the following on his website:
Twenty Percent of Registered Voters Have Already Voted
According to a story in the New Mexico Independent, one out of every five registered voters have already cast their ballot.
When early votes and returned absentee ballots across the state are combined, more than 226,000 New Mexicans- or 19 percent of the state's 1,183,081 registered voters - had voted through Monday, figures show. Early voting ends Saturday.
and they are, overwhelmingly, Democrats:
Democrats lead 132,000 to 71,000 over Republicans among both early and absentee voting.
In 2004, 756,304 people cast ballots for President. Already, New Mexico is nearing one-third of that total -- a full week before election day.
Wow! The New Mexico Dems are coming out in droves.
If you're in New Mexico and haven't done early voting, do it ASAP!
I confirmed with my County Clerk today that they got my absentee ballot. Add one more to the Dem column.
¡Si, se puede!