Larger spread between Republicans, Democrats than past elections

Democrat and Republican absentee ballot returns are offering a glimpse into election results that political analysts argue will fall along party lines.

The absentee ballot results, broken down by county and party affiliation, show a total return of 60 percent, representing 96,790 of 160,556 absentee ballots. The data was compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of State.

To date in 2010, Republicans have returned 67 percent of their requested absentee ballots, representing 53,226 of 79,061 absentee ballots. In comparison, 55 percent of Democrats