Early Voting Up 18% In Marion County

Four year ago, an increase in early voting in Marion County served as a harbinger of Barack Obama's historic win in a traditionally red state. The latest figures from the Marion County Clerk's office reports that early voting is running 18% higher than it was four year ago at this same point. Marion County voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama four years ago, but it supported Mitch Daniels re-election bid for governor by an even larger margin over his Democratic opponent, Jill Long Thompson. Early voting statewide in 2008 was not as high as it was in 2004 when George W. Bush beat John Kerry easily in Indiana with two notable exceptions. The state's two largest counties, Marion and Lake, turned out in higher numbers and both voted heavily for Obama over McCain. Good news for Republicans can be found in higher early voting in heavily Republican counties like Hamilton County than was reported four years ago.