A unseasonably warm day and some key races on the ballot brought a respectable number of Mercer County voters to the polls Tuesday.

About 40 percent -- 28,471 -- of the county's 71,022 registered voters went to the polls Tuesday to elect a slate of county commissioners, two common pleas court judges, local school board members and scores of city, borough and township officials.

County Elections Director Jim Bennington had predicted 30 percent turnout and he chalked up the increased voter participation to hotly-contested county commissioner and judge races.

Off-year elections like Tuesday's have in recent years drawn 30 to 35 percent of the electorate to the polls.

The crush of voters even extended poll hours in some places. In Delaware Township, people waiting in line when the polls were supposed to close at 8 p.m. were allowed to vote.

There are 34,430 Democrats and 29,757 Republicans in Mercer County, according to Bennington's office. A handful of Libertarians -- 178 -- and Greens -- 82 -- and 6,575 "others" round out the county's registration.