BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Voters in the Sportsman’s Paradise State have shattered previous early voting records in the first three days as the 2016 presidential race tightens between GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
On the first day of early voting in Louisiana, voters wrapped a line outside of a polling station in the state’s capital, with 87,066 residents voting across the state, breaking 2012’s record of early votes on the first day.
Altogether in the first three days of early voting across the state, there was a 67 percent increase in early voting since 2012 with a record-breaking 228,865 casting their ballots in the general election.
The 2008 Election was the first time Louisiana residents could early vote in a presidential contest, originally setting a record that year of 99,190 early ballots cast. That record was quickly broken in the 2012 presidential election when 136,694 voted after three days.
At a polling station in one Baton Rouge district, the line was so long that the wait to vote was about 30 minutes, according to WAFB.
In St. Tammany Parish, the most conservative, pro-Trump area in the state, residents waited for about 15-30 minutes in lines to cast their ballots, as witnessed by Breitbart Texas.
Orleans, which is one of the more liberal-leaning parishes in the state, East Baton Rouge and St. Tammany Parishes have cast the most early ballots thus far.
“Be prepared. The lines are long,” Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler told WAFB. “They’re moving quickly, but you can anticipate at least at this moment across the state about a 15 to 20-minute wait. But take that time in line, if you haven’t done it before, to study that ballot.”
The deep red state has seen a surge and record high of voter registration ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election, with over 3 million residents registered to vote.
“Pick the candidate you think is the best candidate whether it be president, or senator in your area and pick the candidate that you think would be the best candidate and go out and vote,” Schedler told WWL-TV.
In a recent statewide presidential poll, Trump held a 20 point lead over Clinton, garnering 54 percent to the former Secretary of State’s 34.
Even in the liberal-leaning New Orleans metro area, Trump is tied with Clinton, both with 42 percent.
In the same poll, 88 percent of Republicans say they were voting for Trump, but 32 percent of Democrats said they were also voting for the New York mogul.
Only 57 percent of Democrats said they would vote for Clinton on Election Day, while just three percent of Republicans said the same.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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