Turnout may have helped Gore

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Democrats fought for high voter turnout, and were confident early Wednesday morning that work paid off.\nWith an estimated 85 million voters expected to go to the polls, just under 77 million people voted with 77 percent of precincts reporting.\nIn 1996, 49 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. The highest number recorded was a 69 percent turnout in the 1960 presidential election.\n"We all know this is the closest election in a generation, and in an election as close as this, turnout is the key to victory," said Gore-Lieberman spokesperson Doug Hattaway.\nIn Ohio, morning reports showed the number already higher than turnout in 1996 with Democratic turnout already up 15 percent from previous elections. \nSouthern counties in Florida expected extremely high numbers -- up to 80 percent turnout in Miami/Dade county. States such as Vermont and Massachusetts were expecting record numbers, and Louisiana and Connecticut expected around 80 percent turnout. About 60 percent was anticipated in parts of Michigan.\nBecause of high turnout in St. Louis, a federal judge ruled to keep the polls open until 10 p.m. The Missouri Supreme Court later reversed the decision. Anyone waiting in line at the time the polls closed could vote.\nAbsentee votes tallied in New Mexico and Iowa also showed strong Democratic support.\nDemocrats were using last minute get-out-the-vote tactics, scheduling five million visits door to door Tuesday, about 40 million phone calls and 30 million e-mail messages reminding people to vote, said Hattaway.\n"I think people are responding to Al Gore's message of keeping the prosperity going and it's also due to a lot of hard work," Hattaway said.\n"We've got the most massive turnout operation that we've ever had. That's seems to have made a difference in this crucial election."\nThe Gore campaign was confident high voter turnout meant more votes for Democrats.\n"The difference is Republicans traditionally vote in elections, so when you look at models, Republicans vote much more frequently, and their base votes are higher numbers. Our voters don't vote as much." said Jenny Backus, Democratic National Committee press secretary.\nThomas Wolf, IU Southeast professor emeritus of political science, said Republicans could have a better record of showing up at the polls in higher numbers because they tend to have different backgrounds and economic levels.\n"The Democratic voter base tends to be lower income with less education," he said. "They (Republicans) tend to come from higher income levels and have more formal education"