Early voting over in Volusia County with Democrats showing muscle, but Tuesday is when the bell tolls

State senate candidate Dorothy Hukill votes at New Smyrna Beach Library; volunteer with mutt named 'Scruffy' stands in for opponent Frank Bruno in greeting voters

Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Early voting was a relative breeze Saturday at the New Smyrna Beach Library where dist. 8 state senate Republican candidate Dorothy Hukill and her campaign manager-son, Jonathan Hukill, cast their votes. Democratic opponent Frank Bruno did not make an appearance here during any of the eight days of early voting.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Democratic party voters won the early vote battle in Volusia County, but can they beat the Republican voters' candidates Tuesday when it really counts?

The early votes are in and registered Democrats came out in larger numbers than their Republican candidates, though independent voters also showed up, leading to Tuesday's big showdown. 

Of the 60,431 votes cast from Saturday to Saturday, 27,123 or 44.88% were by Democrats,  20,156 or 33.35% were from Republicans and 13,152 or 21.76% were from independent voters. These figures are subject to change because they comes from secondary sources as the Volusia County elections website was not updated to reflect Saturday's voting totals or the overall figures for the eight days of early voting.

Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall could not be reached for comment after the polls closed Saturday and her office's phones were set to voicemail.

Though the smallest of the five voting districts, New Smyrna Beach-area voters were third overall among the five early voting polling places with Daytona Beach first overall, followed by Deltona and then New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach and DeLand.

Nearly 60,000 absentee ballots have also been turned in so far. Combined with early voting about a third of the county's eligible voters have exercised their right to vote with the lion's share expected at the polls in Tuesday's general election.

Bill Roe's Ocean Properties' RV was loaned to Republican candidates Saturday for early voting at the New Smyrna Beach Library to display their campaign signs as well as the Romney-Ryan presidential ticket. Next to it was a much smaller vehicle with an Obama sign posted in front. And both parties had tailgating in the parking lot with the Democrats offering free water with an Obama sticker on them.

Though there were reports of long lines at Daytona Beach's library, voting was a breeze Saturday at the New Smyrna Beach Library with waits of 30 minutes or less compared to upwards of 90 minutes on the previous Saturday of early voting.

As usual, the library grounds were adorned with campaign signs and two RVs were parked across the street representing candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.

Representatives from both parties took up space in the parking lot with makeshift stations for campaign brochures and party literature. The Democrats were offering free snacks and free bottles of "Obama" water.

Among the candidates who shoed up here to greet voters were Volusia County Council dist. 3 candidates Deb Denys and Jim Hathaway, County Judge candidate Christopher Kelly and Sheriff's candidate Wendell Bradford.

Two volunteers for Christina Spencer-Kephart, NPA candidate for state representative dist. 25 were holding signs for her while she was stumping in Ormond Beach, said her husband. She had been here throughout the week.

Several volunteers were holding up campaign signs for Republican incumbent Clerk of the Circuit Court Diane Matousek and dist. 8 GOP state senate candidate Dorothy Hukill.

And Hukill arrived the NSB library, along with her campaign manager son, Jonathan Hukill, to vote.

"We're excited about this election -- we're going to win," Dorothy Hukill said, adding she has countless volunteers at other early voting sites in the large district that includes parts of Volusia, Marion and Lake counties.

"We're excited about this election -- we're going to win," Dorothy Hukill said, adding she has countless volunteers at other early voting sites in the large district that includes parts of Volusia, Marion and Lake counties.

Hukill's Democratic opponent, Frank Bruno, has not made an appearance at he New Smyrna Beach Library site on any of the eight days. 

A Democratic volunteer who says she's never met Frank Bruno, holds one of his campaign signs on Saturday, stans outside the New Smyrna Beach Library Saturday wih her mutt, 'Scruffy.' For the day, she had christened him 'Bruno' for those who asked the dog's name.

A Democratic volunteer who said she's never met Frank Bruno, held up a campaign sign bearing his name. 

The volunteer was accompanied by her little dog she aptly named "Bruno" for the day. The mutt's real name is "Scruffy."

Hukill's Democratic opponent, Frank Bruno, has not made an appearance at he New Smyrna Beach Library site on any of the eight days. 

On Saturday, a Democratic volunteer who said she's never met Frank Bruno, held up a campaign sign bearing his name. The volunteer was accompanied by her little dog she aptly named "Bruno" for the day. The dog's real name is "Scruffy."

Editor's Note: Here is our related story on the lack of figures being posted for early voting by the Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall:

Early voting final numbers not updated on Volusia Supervisor of Elections website

Headline Surfer is the 24/7 Internet newspaper in New Smyrna Beach covering Volusia County and beyond via HeadlineSurfer.com, NSBNews.net and VolusiaNews.net.