Early voting breaks record in Bernalillo County

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The election is still one day away, but numbers indicating the number of early voters in Bernalillo County show they are higher than in the last major election of 2008.

The Bernalillo County Clerk's website says that a total of 149,904 people voted early. That shatters the 2008 figure of 126,000 early voters.

With early voting over, election workers are now preparing for a huge influx of voters on Election Day.

Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver says she's expecting a 65 to 70 percent voter turnout this election.

Toulouse Oliver says 43 percent of voters have already cast an early or absentee ballot.

That was spread out over several weeks.

Another 30 percent of voters are expected to hit polling places Tuesday.

Toulouse Oliver says the county had nearly 150,000 early voters and it got more than 32,000 absentee ballots.

Workers are processing those ballots at the voting warehouse Monday.

She says that is less than half the absentee turnout for the presidential election four years ago, but early voting just about made up the difference with about 20,000 more people voting early this election.

The clerk is reminding voters that the busiest times at polling places Tuesday will be in the morning, lunch and after work.

So voters should avoid going at those times if they can.

“Also want to encourage voters they can check the wait times in advance by visiting website or using our app and they can have that at their fingertips before they go to polls,” Toulouse Oliver said.

A reminder, voters don't have to vote at your precinct they can go to any of the county's 69 polling places.

The polls open on Election Day at 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.