Voter turnout good but less than 2008

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Voters have been pouring into polling sites all day long and Bernalillo County officials are expecting a surge in last minute voters as New Mexicans head home from work.

Officials say things have been steady throughout the day Tuesday, while other centers across the county have been slammed.

Earlier Tuesday the UNM SUB was so packed with voters that the County Clerk sent out a tweet asking voters to avoid that site for awhile.

By 2 p.m. Tuesday over 44,000 voters had cast their ballot in Bernalillo County, more than 20,000 of those registered Democrats and over 14,000 Republicans.

While those numbers are pretty decent, county officials say overall voter turnout is low this Presidential election compared to 2008.

Political experts say that could be because New Mexico is not considered a swing state in the Presidential race.

Still voters who spoke to KRQE News 13 say that didn’t matter to them and they wanted their voices heard.

In 2008 73 percent of all registered voters voted in Bernalillo County and unless there is a huge surge of voters in the final hours, county officials anticipate 10 percent fewer voters will cast a ballot this election.

Statewide, over 462,000 voters voted early of absentee. Of those over 180,000 were in Bernalillo County.