Above: downtown Nassau (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Bahamians at home and abroad officially began their 2012 election Tuesday with the country’s Advance Poll.

The Bahamas, which has typically boasted very strong electoral turnout, has typically permitted advance voting for uniformed officers and poll workers.

The poll was expanded this year to allow private citizens unable to vote in the general elections to do so early.

There were 7,865 voters registered in the advance poll, according to the Parliamentary Registration Department.

That number included 4,000 Bahamians that would not otherwise have been able to vote under the original system, such as Bahamians scheduled for medical care, students studying abroad and government officials living abroad.

Voting has taken place all across the globe, including London, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Ottawa and other cities.