Calcasieu Parish Sees 18 Percent Increase in Early Voting Over Last Presidential Election

Early voting in Calcasieu Parish is now officially over, which means if you missed it, you'd better make sure to hit the polls between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6.  But if early voting is any indication of what Election Day will look like, the turnout at the polls may be pretty strong.

According to Calcasieu Parish Registrar of Voters Angie Quienalty, 12,201 people voted in person for the early voting period between the three polling locations in the parish.  That's not the final tally, of course -- mail-in ballots still need to be counted.  However, that number is way up over the 2008 presidential election, in which only 10,302 people voted in person -- a difference of 1,899 people, or an 18% increase.

Quienalty emphasized that early voting is only for one week and it ended at 6 p.m. Tuesday.  While some people are still coming in and asking for ballots, voting is officially and legally closed until Election Day.

Need to find your polling location?  Look below: