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Record-breaking early voting on first day; Voting continues all week

7 years 4 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, October 25 2016 Oct 25, 2016 October 25, 2016 10:39 PM October 25, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ
By: Alicia Serrano, Trey Schmaltz

BATON ROUGE – The first day of early voting brought record crowds to voting locations Tuesday.

Preliminary data provided to WBRZ showed roughly more than 5,300 people voted in one day in East Baton Rouge.  Livingston reported as many as 2,040.  Both parishes said as they reported the statistics, more people were in line to vote.  Early voting ends at 6 p.m.  With lines reaching hundreds deep, numbers could rise significantly by the time early voting resumes Wednesday morning.

Officials in EBR said 5,300 was a single-day record for early voting.

Rough numbers were unavailable from Ascension Parish but people reported long lines there, too.

"I always like to come out and vote early and try to avoid the long lines on voting day," Willis Sawyar, an Ascension Parish voter, said coincidentally as he waited in an early voting line.

Early voting began Tuesday, Oct. 25 and continues through Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily excluding Sunday, Oct. 30.

"Early voting gives people a whole week to vote when it's convenient for them and lines may be shorter," Secretary of State Tom Schedler, said.

Voters who vote in-person will receive a limited edition "I Voted" sticker featuring George Rodrigue's iconic Blue Dog.

Voters can use the smart phone GeauxVote Mobile app or go online here to find out where to early vote along with what will be on their ballot. In addition to the election for president, there are more than 220 races statewide involving 728 candidates. In addition, there are six constitutional amendments votes will be asked to decide as well as 78 propositions across 38 parishes. A sample ballot can be found by clicking here and then clicking "Sample Ballot" at the top of the page. 

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