Florida Voters Hit Polls Early

Florida voters are getting a head start on the presidential primary that is still over a week away.

"I love it. I think it's great," says Peggy Binns. "You can go at your convenience and you don't have to stand in line. It's very simple." Early voting in Florida started over the weekend.

"A little over 11 hundred that voted over the weekend so we're up over 15 hundred," says supervisor of elections in Escambia County David Stafford.

Early voting ends Saturday the 28th. "I think it's a good idea especially considering I'm going to be out of town on the 31st," Carl Poston says after casting his ballot at the Southwest Public Library location.

If you want to cast your ballot early in Florida, in Escambia County you have four different places that you can vote early. Unlike on election day when you have to report to your particular precinct, now you can go to any of those locations. "If you're at the mall out shopping or whatever. Whatever your most convenient early voting location is, you can stop in at any one of the four," says Stafford.

Florida started early voting in 2004 and expanded it in 2006 to include city halls and public libraries. "It relieves some of the burden on the polling places because if you are trying to get 197 thousand voters into 90 different locations during a 12 hour period anything that you can relieve some of that burden which is what early voting does," says Stafford.

Voters casting their ballots today say they wouldn't vote any other way. "I've seen on TV people standing in long lines with people waiting till the last minute. This is the best way to go," says Binns.

Early voters may miss out on last minute pitches by the GOP hopefuls. According to the Pensacola Republicans Club, Rick Santorum will stop in Pensacola Thursday. A visit by Mitt Romney is also in the works.