Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew reported that about 11 percent of the registered voters in the county had cast ballots by 3:15 p.m. today.

Including advance ballots, Shew said, 8,642 ballots had been cast by mid-afternoon. That’s only 2,197 votes fewer than the total number of ballots cast in the 2011 municipal elections.

Six of the 60 polling places in the county have already reported vote totals surpassing the 2011 turnout.

Within the city of Lawrence, the largest number of votes were coming from polling places in the western part of the city: Langston Hughes School, Deerfield School and the First Southern Baptist Church.

The highest turnout percentage so far was reported at the American Legion post, at Sixth Street and Kasold Drive, where 23 percent of the registered voters in that precinct had cast ballots.

The pace of voting often picks up after 5 p.m., when many voters are getting off work. Polling places are open until 7 p.m.

Douglas County voters are deciding races for city commissions and school boards. Voters in the Lawrence school district are also deciding on a proposed $92.5 million bond issue.