Carroll County voting data shows that nearly half of all ballots collected so far in the early voting period have come from registered Republicans. As of Wednesday, 3,373 ballots have been submitted to election officials via in-person absentee voting at the Carroll County Courthouse or returned via mail. Of that total, Republican voters submitted 1,582, or 46.9 percent of the ballots received to date. Democrats have submitted 1,000 ballots, or 29.6 percent. The next largest voting bloc is independents, which accounted for 776 ballots, or 23 percent. The remaining 0.5 percent consists of Libertarian and other parties. National trends show that GOP voters are showing up in larger numbers to vote early compared to previous elections, but election analysts are unsure how that will affect election results. Democrats have historically outperformed in early voting, but Republicans have typically showed up in larger numbers on Election Day. In-person early voting is open in Carroll County until the close of business on Monday, Nov. 4. The Carroll County Auditor’s Office will be open on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 9 am to 5 p.m.
