Newly released early voting numbers are giving us a preview of what to expect on Election Day.
In Arizona, the total number of early votes cast so far in the 2018 general election now outnumber all the votes cast in the state's last midterm election in 2014. That's according to Garret Archer -- an analyst with the Arizona Secretary of State's office.
Archer says the jump in early voting numbers is almost entirely due to a surge in Maricopa County.
Here is where the counties stand right now compared to their 2014 totals:
Apache: -13k
Cochise: -9.5k
Coconino: -7k
Gila: -1k
Graham: -1k
Greenlee: - 400
La Paz: -700
Maricopa: +100k
Mohave: -5.5k
Navajo: -9k
Pima: -5.5k
Pinal: -3k
Santa Cruz: -2k
Yavapai: +6.5k
Yuma: +1k— The AZ Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) November 5, 2018
So far, more than 1.5 million early ballots were cast in Arizona. Data from the Secretary of State's office shows 41.4 percent of those ballots came from registered Republicans, 33.9 percent from registered Democrats and 23.9 percent from voters who haven't registered with a political party.
The data show 51.3 percent of ballots came from women. The median age for ballots cast is 61.
Pima County accounts for more than 268,000 ballots so far. The county's returns show a more liberal trend than the statewide numbers, with 43.3 percent of ballots returned from registered Democrats, 32.8 percent from Republicans and 23.2 percent from Independents.
Earlier numbers showed a stronger turnout for Republicans in early voting, but that lead has winnowed as more ballots were returned.
Here is where the counties stand right now compared to their 2014 totals:
Apache: -13k
Cochise: -9.5k
Coconino: -7k
Gila: -1k
Graham: -1k
Greenlee: - 400
La Paz: -700
Maricopa: +100k
Mohave: -5.5k
Navajo: -9k
Pima: -5.5k
Pinal: -3k
Santa Cruz: -2k
Yavapai: +6.5k
Yuma: +1k— The AZ Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) November 5, 2018
Though the ballots report the registered party for the voter, they don't say how he or she actually voted.
