Elections officials reported a surge in early voting on Monday and Tuesday, roughly one week before the 2012 general election.
Carol Ruise of Supervisor of Elections Nita Crawford’s office said they saw more than 700 voters on October 29.
“It was a madhouse,” she said.
The following day foot traffic remained steady outside the office nestled between N. 5th and 6th Streets and around the corner from the Baker County Republican headquarters.
Supporters for sheriff candidates Joey Dobson and Cameron Coward occupied opposite sides of N. 6th waiving signs early this week as well.
One early voter, Carol Baker of Glen St. Mary, said she’s been casting early ballots since it became an option in 2004.
“I like to get it done and out of the way because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Ms. Baker. “It’s a great service.”
Yolanda Reed of Macclenny voted early for the first time this year to avoid long lines at the polls on election day November 6, which could be longer this year given the lengthy list of state constitutional amendments included on the ballot.
As of late Tuesday, after nearly four days of early voting, 2285 ballots had been cast, 911 from Democrats and 1213 from Republicans. That’s about 16 percent of all registered voters here. Early voting ends Saturday.