Long lines form as early voting begins in Florida

Residents stand in line to on the first day of early voting at the Lauderhill Mall on Monday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thousands of voters stood in line, some for hours, as Florida kicked -off the state's early voting.Photo: AFP

Florida kicked off early voting on Monday, with record crowds heading to the polls and voters waiting hours to cast their ballots. Elections officials said the few reported problems were minor.
Final statewide numbers for ballots cast Monday won't be available until Tuesday, but counties large and small, traditionally Democrat and traditionally Republican, were reporting record turnout. The early voting sites will remain open two weeks until the weekend before Election Day.
"Lines are a sign of a healthy democracy, and certainly our democracy is healthy today," said Secretary of State Kurt Browning.
The Sunshine State is again key this election season, with a prize of 27 electoral votes 10 percent of the 270 needed to clinch the election. The state's disputed election in 2000 gave the presidency to George W. Bush, and he captured the state in 2004. This year, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are locked in a close race.
Registration numbers released Sunday show a 600,000-voter edge for Democrats over Republicans in Florida: 4.7 million versus 4.1 million, with 2.1 million people identifying with neither party.
The McCain campaign acknowledged it expected more Democrats than Republicans to vote early, but says GOP voters have requested 295,000 absentee ballots statewide compared with 199,000 Democrats.
Underscoring how important the state is, Obama campaigned in Tampa, while former Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton held an event for him in Fort Lauderdale. They planned to appear together at an evening rally in Orlando.