Burnet, Llano counties reporting strong early-voting turnout

Burnet County Republican Party president Bill Parmeter said that the presidential race has raised a tremendous amount of interest among people.

“I think there has been an incredible turnout for early voting, which I applaud,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents who didn’t cast a ballot during early voting still have one day left to make their voice known in the presidential and other elections.

The polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday for election day. And local officials are getting ready for a big turnout.

“We expect a big day Tuesday,” said Barbara Agnew, Burnet County elections administrator.

As of Thursday, about 10,000 Burnet County residents had voted during early voting while about 6,600 Llano County residents cast ballots.

Early voting started Oct. 20 and ended 5 p.m. Friday.

Though most local races were decided in favor of the Republicans during the March primaries, the presidential races are spurring more interest than party leaders recall in recent years.

Democrats U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and running mate U.S. Sen. Joe Biden are are running for president and vice-president. Obama is the first African-American candidate to go this far in a presidential election.

Republicans U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are also seeking the presidential and vice presidential spots. Political observers say Palin has energized the GOP base with her down-home “hockey mom” approach.

Llano County Clerk Bette Sue Hoy said the number of people who had voted by Thursday equaled the number who had voted during the entire 2004 presidential early-voting period. There are 14,500 registered voters in Llano County.

“Llano County votes pretty heavily,” she said. “We typically get anywhere from 70-80 percent turnout for our elections. Some (voting) precincts will get a 90 percent turnout.”

Agnew said it’s hard to predict what percentage of register voters cast their ballot in early voting compared to election day.

“Sometimes it’s 50-50 while other times its 60-40 or even 40-60,” she said.

Agnew said there are about 27,000 registered voters in Burnet County.

During the 2004 presidential election, 15,852 Burnet County residents voted overall, compared to an estimated 10,000 in early voting through Thursday, she said.

Stuart supports Obama while Parmeter supports McCain. Both remain optimistic for their choice.

“I know are all these polls out there, but I’m not sure I believe the polls,” Parmeter said. “It’s really up in the air. I have no idea how it’s going to turn out.”

Stuart said the past two presidential elections have had a Texan at the top of the ticket, presenting a challenge for Lone Star State Democrats, especially in Burnet County. Now with no Texan leading the ticket, Stuart said the Democrats are experiencing a resurgence across the state and county.

“We had a lot of people affected by the Bush policies and they’re turning out now,” the Democrat chair said. 

But Parmeter said Burnet County and most of Texas still remains supportive of the Republican Party platform.

“My belief is the core values of the Hill Country are still very conservative, which aligns with the Republican Party,” he said. 

The proof of that can be found on local ballots, which include several Republicans but no Democrats, Parmeter said.

Though the past eight to 10 years have been tough on Burnet County Democrats, Stuart said the future is beginning to look a little brighter.

“I’m looking forward to 2010 because I think we’ll see some changes in 2008,” he said. “I think voters will see more Democrats running (locally) in the future.”

Voters are reminded to bring their voter registration card, driver’s license or other form of ID to the polls Tuesday, Agnew said.

“There’s is also a new polling location in Burnet County,” she said. “The polling place for people in voting Precinct 3 is the Burnet VFW Post,” Agnew said. “Its address is 1402 Buchanan Drive, which is also Highway 29.”

Agnew reminded people that on Tuesday they must cast their ballot in their voting precinct and not one of the early-voting locations.

In Burnet County, both the Democrats and Republicans will be hosting celebrations. The Burnet County Republicans will be at the county headquarters at the corner of Washington and Pierce streets on the northeast corner of the Burnet Square starting at 6:30 p.m. The Burnet County Democrats will be at Diego’s Restaurant, 3401 U.S. 281 in Burnet, starting at 7 p.m.

daniel@thepicayune.com