Apr 22, 2008 6:32 pm US/Eastern
Voter Turnout High For Pa. Primary Election
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ―
Pennsylvania poll workers say turnout has been high for today's primary election.
Election officials expect about a 60-percent voter turnout, hitting the predicted Democratic turnout number and perhaps exceeding it.
Allegheny County Elections Director Mark Wolosik told KDKA that they have no way of measuring turnout throughout the day, but that most places have been relatively busy.
The heated Democratic campaign between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton combined with the beautiful weather are sending large amount of voters at the polls.
The turnout could even set a record for Pennsylvania's Democratic primary.
If more than 2.3 million of the 4.2 million registered party members show up at the polls, it would set a modern record for the state's Democratic presidential primary.
The current record, of just under 55 percent, was set in 1980, when Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy narrowly defeated then-President Jimmy Carter in Pennsylvania.
Democratic enrollment began to soar earlier this year when it became apparent that neither candidate would clinch the nomination before Pennsylvania's primary.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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