Montgomery County voters came out in droves this year to cast early ballots before Election Day. During this year’s early voting period, 17,754 people cast ballots in person, more than triple the 2014 total of 4,600, officials report.
Nationwide, early voting numbers surpassed 2014 levels in 28 states.
Overall voter turnout this year is also expected to break records.
Montgomery County Board of Elections Director Jan Kelly says she thinks the increase is part of larger trend toward voting early.
“People like to have a choice of when they want to vote, what works for their schedule. They might be out of town,” says Kelly. “A lot of people said they just want to get it over with. They don't like to go to their polling location, or for whatever reason, they just want to vote from their kitchen table with a paper ballot.”
Montgomery County voters requested 41,937 absentee ballots, about 2,500 more than 2014.