The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Friday, and Louisiana voters have already cast a record-breaking number of votes. With the final days before the 2008 general election quickly approaching, people hoping to vote are left with two options: absentee voting or making the trip to their home parish for traditional voting. More than 266,000 Louisiana registered voters have cast their vote through early voting, according to data released Wednesday morning from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office.  About 32,000 of the 266,000 were East Baton  Rouge Parish residents.Though early voting ended Tuesday, the numbers will rise as voters turn in absentee ballots.Jacques Berry, press secretary with the Louisiana Secretary of State, said the numbers are equal to about 9.1 percent of Louisiana’s registered voters and about 12 percent of East Baton Rouge Parish voters.”We almost doubled our early voting totals for the governor’s race last year,” Berry said.Berry said early voting is heavily encouraged for convenience — especially in this election when a “very heavy turnout” is expected.The Secretary of State Archives Building was one of four early voting locations in EBR Parish.According to Suzette Crocker, business manager of the Secretary of State Archives Building, people generally spent about 30 to 45 minutes waiting in line to cast their vote.Berry said he considers the long line of voters to be a positive thing.”It’s increased voter participation which is what we strive for,” he said.For those who did not take advantage of early voting, there will be 314 voting sites in Baton Rouge and more than 3,000 throughout Louisiana. Berry said Louisiana voters can visit www.geauxvote.com to find the precinct where they should vote.Students living away from home can request an absentee ballot by contacting the Registrar of Voters in their home parish by Friday.”Students, in particular, are away from home, and we want to make sure they have the opportunity to vote,” Berry said. “Absentee voting is a good way to do that.”Kim Roberts, marketing coordinator with University Auxiliary Services, said University representatives have worked to ensure students were able to vote if they desired. She said they have helped students register to vote, request absentee ballots and submit absentee ballots.”We basically just covered the postage,” she said.Roberts said representatives will continue to help students request and submit absentee ballots in the coming days. “We understand the idea of exercising your right to vote,” she said. “We just try to give students the opportunity … We were basically a portal for them to do that.”—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]