The sky was cloudless, the sun was bright and the temperature was near 70 degrees. Tuesday's weather was just too perfect for a stunning election turnout, surmised Butler County Elections Bureau Director Regis Young.

"I think it was just too nice a day. If it had been a little cloudy or a little colder, I think we'd have had bigger numbers,'' he said.

Mr. Young had said prior to Tuesday's primary election that he wouldn't be surprised by a record turnout in Butler County, given that voter registration had reached an all-time high and about a thousand people had switched parties from Republican to Democrat -- an indication that the Democratic fight for the presidential nomination might bring out voters anxious to have a say in the contest.

Turnout was pretty good, but not record setting.

"It's about in line with other presidential election years,'' Mr. Young said.

Democratic turnout was 53.22 percent. Republican turnout was 29.89 percent. Of 103,253 eligible voters, 41,330 ballots were cast. Those figures do not include absentee and provisional ballots.

"I think people went golfing, they sat in the sun, and the farmers plowed their fields and cut their grass. It was just too nice a day!" Mr. Young bemoaned.

He said workers at the county's 85 precincts reported that voting was "steady and smooth all day with no big lines and no big problems."