JEFFERSON, La. — More than 91,000 people in Louisiana voted Friday, on the first day of early voting.
That beats the last presidential election in 2020, by more than 12,000 voters on day one.
And in Jefferson Parish, they are seeing the same extreme high turnout.
A record number of voters in Jefferson Parish are hoping to avoid long lines on election day, by standing in long lines to vote early.
“Because I didn't want to be standing in long lines. And that's another thing too. It was very important for me to vote and whenever they have elections, I'm out here,” said a woman who has two sons serving in the U.S. Air Force.
“Because we were told that it would be beneficial for the party we're voting for, to come early,” said another woman.
“Yeah, I wanted to avoid the big crowds, because I know it's going to be very crowded,” said her husband, talking about election day on November 5.
The number of people who voted Friday, which was the first day of early voting, was more than 8,000. That's more than on the first day of 2016 and 2020 combined.
“You know, I think people are motivated. I think the weather was great. We have more early voting locations. We are trying to make it convenient. Hired more part-time people. We have more machines,” explained Dennis DiMarco, the Registrar of Voters in Jefferson Parish.
Usually early voters are mostly seniors, but not this time.
“We're also seeing a large number of first-time voters which is interesting,” said DiMarco who said it is a combination of both young people who just became of voting age and older people who are finally voting for the first time.
If you're one of those first-time voters who registered online, you'll have to vote the first time in person, unless you are an out-of-town student who sends in a copy of your student ID.
“We've had situations where we've had somebody try to register their dog. One way of telling is they have to come in and vote in person,” he added.
Another difference this year, there are more registered Democrats in Jefferson Parish than Republicans, but in this early voting cycle, it's the Republicans turning out in higher numbers, unlike years past. Around 15,000 absentee ballots were mailed out and already 60 percent have come back to be counted. They are under lock and key and 24-hour camera surveillance. If there's an error, clerks will contact you to fix it, so it can be counted. There's still time to request an absentee ballot if you are older than 65, disabled, or will be away on election day.
There are six early voting sites in Jefferson parish, three on the Westbank and three on the Eastbank.
Remember, you can not wear any candidates’ names on your clothes or campaign materials.
