There wasn’t a long line at precinct 1, in the Floyd County Courthouse, but election officers said they had seen a steady stream of voters and were predicting high participation.
Just over half of Floyd County voters went to the polls Tuesday, but they surpassed turnout in 2008 by about 2,000 votes.
Unofficial results show that 15,265 of the county’s 29,989 registered voters cast ballots, for a turnout of 50.9 percent.
In 2008, the most high water mark for voter participation, just over 13,000 voters went to the polls.
While the turnout represents a recent high water mark, the county lagged behind the rest of the state. With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, Kentucky appeared on track to have around 60 percent voter turnout, just shy of 2008’s 62 percent.
Last week, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes predicted turnout would be between 62 and 64 percent, which would match or surpass 2008’s results.
County Clerk Chris Waugh said Tuesday morning that turnout was strong all across the county, with some precincts reporting short waits for voters. Waugh said that when he went to vote at his precinct, the line was so long, he decided to leave and check on other precincts, then return later to cast his ballot.
Another indication of strong turnout, Waugh said, was the number of absentee ballots, which he said was higher than usual at 300 paper ballots. The county board of elections began counting the absentees at 10 a.m.
At the Cliffside precinct, at Big Sandy Area Development District, voters were having to spend at least an hour in line to record their votes, with the line stretching out the door.
There was not much of a line in precinct 1, but election officers there said they had seen a steady stream of voters, with both election machines busy without a break.
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