Pennsylvania State Official: Voter Turnout May Top 80 Percent

(AP)—Pennsylvania’s secretary of state said Tuesday morning he wouldn’t be surprised if voter turnout topped 80 percent in the commonwealth.

Pedro Cortes expects about seven million of Pennsylvania’s 8.7 million registered voters to participate.

He says the highest voter turnout since 1980 was in 1992, when 83 percent of Pennsylvania voters cast ballots in an election headlined by Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican President George Bush.

Cortes also downplays concerns over voter fraud, saying: “I will never claim that elections in Pennsylvania or anywhere else are perfect, but they’re legitimate.”

Cortes has served from 2003 to 2010 under former Gov. Ed Rendell and since last year under Gov. Tom Wolf, both Democrats. Tuesday’s general election pitting Republican Donald Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton will be the 19th overseen by Cortes, counting primary elections and non-presidential elections.