Republicans Have Cast 17,000 More Votes than Democrats in Florida

With six days left until Election Day, Republican voters have cast more ballots in Florida than Democrats, a reverse from the 2012 election.

“Six days before Election Day in 2012, Democrats in Florida had cast about 39,000 more votes than Republicans,” reports Tampa Bay Times’s Adam Smith. “Today, six days before Election Day 2016, Republicans have cast about 17,000 more votes than Democrats.”

The early voting numbers suggest the election will be a very close race in the Sunshine state, according to Smith.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Political Director Chris Carr touted early vote numbers in Florida during a phone call with reporters.

“Republicans are outperforming at this point in 2012, while Democrats are seeing a drop in early voting participation,” Carr explained. “Of the total ballots cast in Florida today, Republicans continue to hold a slight lead…by a margin of 16,460.”

“Republicans are returning ballots at a much better rate,” he added about absentee ballots. “Republicans now have returned 72,000 more ballots than Democrats to date.”

According to the RNC, there have been 445,000 more absentee ballots requested this election than in 2012. Early voting also opened in 67 Florida counties five days earlier this election than in 2012.