Early SC Turnout Well Above Average

[bigtree]

John Edwards (D-NC) visits a polling station at Greenview Park January 26, 2008 in Columbia, South Carolina.

By Shailagh Murray COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Early signs here suggests turnout could shatter 2004 totals. Several black precincts in Richland County, where Columbia is located, reported hitting 25 percent of all registered voters by midday, according to state party officials.

Lexington County, a predominantly Republican County next door and to the west, also is seeing spikes. In one Lexington black precinct, 80 people total voted in 2004; today, 95 had voted by noon. In another black precinct, 59 people voted in 2004; by noon today, 118 had showed up. In mixed precincts in Lexington, numbers were higher as well: one reported 149 voters as of noon today, compared to 176 in 2004. And, in one predominantly white precinct in Lexington County, twice as many people had voted as of 10:20 this morning, as in 2004.

The South Carolina Democratic Party was hoping for a turnout of 350,000 people today -- about 60,000 more than went to the polls in 2004.

Early reports from former Sen. John Edwards' hometown of Seneca don't suggest jaw-dropping turnout for the mill town's favorite son, however. A total of 637 people had voted in the town's four precincts as of noon today. In 2004, when Edwards was also a candidate for the nomination, 1015 Seneca residents voted.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/26/early_turnout_well_above_avera_1.html

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. Nice pic of Edwards.

:-) Nice too see.