Large Turnout In Early Arizona Primary Voting

Some 200,000 ballots have already been cast in early voting for Arizona's Republican presidential primary, a contest that is still two weeks away.

Nearly three-quarters of those ballots have come from voter-rich Maricopa County, the state's largest county which includes Arizona's capital city Phoenix.

Most of the smaller counties do not yet have an exact tally of returned ballots, so a specific statewide figure is not available. But a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Recorder's office said 144,518 Republican votes have been submitted.

Nearly 400,000 early ballots were sent to residents in the county, and voters may still request them until the end of this week.

Voters have until the primary's polls close on Feb. 28 to return ballots.

The early voting period opened on Feb. 2, before Mitt Romney won contests in Nevada and Maine -- and also before Rick Santorum's sweep of contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado on Feb. 7. Santorum has also experienced a rise in national polls since Arizona's early voting started.

So far, 30,205 Republican ballots have been returned in Pima County -- 35 percent of the early ballots sent out. Nearly 60 percent of Pima County's Republicans will get an early ballot for this year's primary.

A Pima County recorder said she has satisfied several thousand ballot requests in recent days, suggesting the sluggish turnout seen in other states this election cycle will not be repeated in Arizona.

Four years ago, 541,767 votes were cast in the primary won by native son Sen. John McCain. Romney finished second.

The seemingly heavy response so far might actually dilute the impact of next week's debate in Mesa -- at least for Arizona voters.

There are 29 winner-take-all delegates available in the Grand Canyon State, but that is half the number Arizona was originally allocated. The Republican National Committee penalized the state for moving up its primary before Super Tuesday on March 6. Read more: FOXNews