The New Hampshire secretary of state's office confirms that a record number of ballots were cast in the state's presidential primary earlier this month.
A total of 542,459 people voted in the Feb. 9 primary, topping the record set in 2008 by close to 13,000 votes. This year, there were 287,683 Republican votes — far surpassing the 2008 tally — while the Democratic total — 254,776 — fell short of the 2008 number.
Independent voters, officially known as "undeclared," can vote in either primary, and new voters can register at the polls on election day. The secretary of state's office said Monday it is still compiling the number of registered voters, so calculating the turnout percentage isn't yet possible.
