Some voters have had to wait in long lines since early voting begain this past Saturday.

Some voters have had to wait in long lines since early voting begain this past Saturday.

According to USA Today, early and absentee voting numbers are huge so far in key swing states across the nation, including New Mexico.

The article says that a large number of people have either voted early or absentee in New Mexico so far.

More than 230,000 people have voted early or absentee, and Democrats have a 62%-to-38% advantage over Republicans. That’s about the same as the Democratic registration edge in a state that Bush won by 6,000 votes in 2004.

That number, as inflated as it sounds, is correct, according to figures from a spokesman from the New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State. Spokesman James Flores reported 169,500 absentee voters and more than 61,000 New Mexicans who have cast ballots at early voting sites, which opened Saturday.

The partisan numbers seem to be a little bit off in the USA Today report. This would mean that there have been no third-party or decline-to-state (independent) voters who have voted early or absentee so far in New Mexico, which seems unlikely.

Also, Democrats currently make up 50 percent of registered voters in New Mexico according to the latest numbers from the Secretary of State. Republicans account for 32 percent and third parties are three percent. The rest decline to state a political party preference.

The 230,000 number accounts for about 19.5 percent of all registered New Mexico voters. Experts have predicted that as many as 60 percent of New Mexicans will vote early or absentee.