Early voting for the November 3 election has ended, and the turnout broke records.
As of the close of early voting sites last night, statewide, 964,181 people had cast their ballots. That's compared to 503,620 early ballots cast during the entire week of early voting for the November 2019 election, and 531,555 votes cast early during the last presidential election in November 2016, according to Secretary of State data.
KATC Investigates pulled the figures for Acadiana's parishes. Across Acadiana, turnout was more than twice what it was in November 2019, and nearly twice what it was for the November 2016 presidential election.
The Secretary of State's Office provided figures analyzing the turnout. According to the SOS press release, the number of ballots cast on Monday and Tuesday of this week were the highest single-day early voting figures in any election since 2016.
Statewide, the number of ballots cast during this early voting session was 74 percent more than the number cast in the 2016 presidential election.
Here's what the SOS is reporting for Acadiana Parishes:
Acadia Parish: Early voting was 53 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Calcasieu Parish: Early voting was 127 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Evangeline Parish: Early voting was 41 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Iberia Parish: Early voting was 54 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Jeff Davis Parish: Early voting was 47 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Lafayette Parish: Early voting was 144 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
St. Landry Parish: Early voting was 89 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
St. Martin Parish: Early voting was 76 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
St. Mary Parish: Early voting was 52 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Vermilion Parish: Early voting was 58 percent more than that for the 2016 presidential election.
Here are the SOS numbers of ballots cast for our parishes:
Acadia - 9,410
Calcasieu - 46,498
Evangeline - 5,158
Iberia - 14,401
Jeff Davis - 7,177
Lafayette - 47,799
St. Landry - 13,227
St. Martin - 13,462
St. Mary - 10,953
Vermilion - 10,395
That's a total of 178,480 early votes.
Here are the SOS numbers for the entire week of early voting for the November 2019 election:
Acadia: 5,613
Calcasieu: 15,874
Evangeline: 3,916
Iberia: 8,501
Jeff Davis: 4,029
Lafayette: 17,524
St. Landry: 7,900
St. Martin: 7,967
St. Mary: 6,012
Vermilion: 5,497
That's a total of 82,833.
Here are the numbers for the last presidential election, in November 2016:
Acadia: 6,182
Calcasieu: 20,061
Evangeline: 3,500
Iberia: 8,823
Jeff Davis: 4,776
Lafayette: 18,913
St. Landry: 6,781
St. Martin: 7,499
St. Mary: 6,989
Vermilion: 6,277
That's a total of 89,801 early votes.
