Voter turnout high, even for a Presidentitial election

Voter turnout was high in Ogle County Tuesday, even for a Presidential election.

Sixty-seven percent, or 23,507 of the county's 34,994 registered voters turned out to cast their ballots, 6 percent more than four years ago.

"We have a very high voter turnout," county clerk Rebecca Huntley said as the last ballots were being counted. "I'm very pleased with the turnout and I'm very proud of my election judges for processing such a large number of voters.

Turnout ranged from a high of 81 percent in Grand Detour Township to a low of 45 percent in Flagg Township Precinct 7.

Huntley credited two things for the high turnout.

"One thing is that it's a Presidential election and that always brings out the voters," she said. "The other thing is we've done a voter registration purge which made the percentage higher."

A purge eliminates people who have moved or are no longer alive from the county's voter list.

In the presidential race, a majority of Ogle County voters chose Republican candidate Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama.

Romney garnered 13,409 votes in Ogle County to Obama's 9,504. Obama was declared the winner late Tuesday night by most news agencies.