The number of Democratic absentee ballots submitted before noon Monday, which marks election eve, was 14,107. 11,458 were returned. In 2008, 5,195 voters voted absentee for the Democratic primary. This was compared to 6,921 in 2016. Election watchers often view the absence of voting as a measure of overall turnout. This was not true in 2008. Absentee voting was low, but Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama set records that remain as the highest turnout for any presidential primary in state history. The 2008 Clinton-Obama primaries saw just over 434,000 voters. About 416,000 people voted in 2016’s Republican primary, when Donald Trump was on it. Mississippi residents over 65, disabled people and those who are absent on Election Day may vote absentee. People could vote in person at the local circuit clerk’s office until noon Saturday. Mail-in ballots must be returned by Monday at 5 p.m. The numbers will not be available to the Secretary of State’s Office until Monday’s election. Democrat voters will vote for their preferred candidate for president. Former Vice President Joe Biden, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are the top two remaining contenders. Three other candidates will also be on the Democrat list, vying to win the U.S. Senate nomination. They will also challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith in the November general elections. Mike Espy is a former U.S. House Member and secretary of agriculture. He is running again for the U.S. Senate position after losing a difficult-fought battle to Hyde Smith in 2018. In 2018, they were trying to replace long-time Senator Thad Cochran, who stepped down due to health reasons. Tobey Borhen and Jensen Borhen will challenge Espy on the Democrat ballot to become a senator. This year, all four congressional seats will also be up for election. Ten thousand seven hundred eighty-seven absentee ballots were requested by the Republican side. They had been returned Monday morning. Hyde-Smith was unopposed. Trump is unlikely to face serious Republican opposition. Biden and Sanders will compete for 36 delegates in Mississippi. A candidate must win at minimum 15 percent of the vote in each congressional district or statewide to be eligible for delegates. Data for Progress, a Democratic pollster, found that Biden had a 55 percentage point lead in Mississippi, according to a recent poll. Mississippi is among six states that held primaries on Tuesday. According to past information from the Secretary of State’s Office, Mississippi has over 1.9 million registered voters. It also has a population of approximately 2.2 million who are eligible to vote. (Correction) An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the number of states who voted in the March 10 primary elections was incorrect. Six states will vote: Washington, Idaho, Michigan and Missouri. )