I'll be posting links to turnout anecdotes from around the country all day.
Leheigh Valley, PA:
"For a nonpresidential election we are running above normal for this time of day," Hynes said.
That's Toomey's old district. Not good news for us.
Update: Turnout here is 3x the norm. Astronomically higher. Bethlehem mayor John Callahan is running for Congress and is from this area, so the optimists can hope this is his base turning out to vote out GOP Rep. Charlie Dent.
Update II: Dem party internals had Sestak up 47-46 in this area, and getting out Dem vote will be critical for the Senate race, as well as the Callahan-Dent house race. If you want to make GOTV calls into this district, you can contact Michael at mogorman@padems.com and he'll set you up.
St. Charles County, MO:
Voter turnout has been heavy this morning throughout the region, with a battle to replace Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond leading the charge to the polls.
In St. Charles County, many of the precincts were reporting 200 voters by 7:30 -- 90 minutes after the polls opened.
"It's a very heavy turnout," said Rich Chrismer, director of elections in St. Charles County. He had predicted a turnout of 65 to 70 percent of the county's registered voters. Statewide, the secretary of state's office is estimating a 67 percent turnout
St. Charles is a Republican County -- McCaskill lost it 54-44 in 2006.
Minnesota:
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says Election Day is going "smooth as silk" with higher-than-expected voter turnout Tuesday morning.
Ritchie had predicted a turnout of 60 percent but a surge of early morning voters and good weather throughout the state had him questioning at midmorning whether that was too low.
Conventional wisdom is that in Blue states like Minnesota, higher turnout helps Democrats, since Republicans are already the most likely to turn out.
Chicago, IL:
Early turnout, a key for Democrats in a state where they enjoy a 10-point advantage over Republicans among registered voters, was mixed.
At least two precincts on Chicago’s North Side—in Lincoln Park and Uptown—were seeing heavier-than-average turnout, precinct officials said.
But two South Side precincts, not far from President Obama’s Hyde Park home, were slower. One was in Woodlawn, at the Kenneth Campbell Apartment’s cafeteria where two election judges were napping, their heads resting atop their hands on a folding table when approached by a reporter.
Election judge Kelvin Buchanan, 22 years old, said that he had yet to see the same outpouring of people as in 2008, when Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign enlivened the African-American vote.
Keep in mind, however, that Cook County rocked it in the early vote in Illinois.
Cook County is the most Democratic county in the state, and Cook County is voting at one of the highest rates of any county in the state. While only 38.5% of all registrants are from Cook County, 43.5% of all ballots cast so far are from Cook County.
Update: More turnout stories.
Milwaukee, WI:
Voting is underway as polls have opened Tuesday for people in Wisconsin to cast their ballots.
Voters have found long lines as the 2010 November elections will bring decisions in important state and federal government races.
Feingold needs massive margins in Milwaukee and Madison to survive.
Boston, Mass:
Polling stations across the state are reporting a brisk turnout for today’s election.
In Boston, more than 28,000 people had cast ballots by 9 a.m., more than 7.5 percent of all registered voters. By noon, nearly 16 percent of registered voters in Boston had cast their ballots.
Several town clerks say turnout is higher than usual.
