Vermont could break voting records - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

Vermont could break voting records

Vermonters have caught a voting bug that has state officials bracing for a very busy election day. "We have the highest voter registration that we've seen," said Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos.

Vermont is up to roughly 458,000 registered voters. That's 4,000 more than the state's previous record set during the last presidential election. Officials predict more than 70% of those voters will fill out a ballot.

In Burlington officials say 750 new voters have been registered this month alone and the numbers continue to rise.

"It's really our civic duty to get out and vote," said voter Carin Hoffman.

Hoffman like hundreds of others in Burlington decided to vote early. For her it's about convenience but others say negative campaign ads have them asking for early ballots.

"This year it just feels just feels incredibly tense to me and I just needed to put it to bed. It's out of my mind now. I've voted," said voter Lorre Tucker.

City officials say it's become a popular trend. The number of requests for early and absentee ballots is unprecedented. "It's the highest we've ever had. Comparatively to last presidential election we had about 6800 requests. So far we've gotten over 7000," said Burlington's Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Scott Schrader.

Wednesday was the last day to register but there's still time to vote early, "People can vote early, absentee, in person here (Burlington City Hall) until Monday at 7:30 p.m.," says Schrader. In Burlington there are special Saturday hours as well between 9:00 a.m. and noon.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m.. Mailed absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday afternoon.