NEW ORLEANS - If the in-person early voting numbers are any indication, it seems that there is heightened interest in Louisiana's 2016 presidential primary.

The early voting for the March 5 primary is nearly double the voting in the 2012 presidential primary and almost four times what it was in 2008. 

According to numbers from the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters, 6,015 people have cast in-person ballots as of 5:30 p.m. Friday. In 2012, there were 3,322 early votes cast in person and in 2008 there were 1,275. 

Early voting in Orleans Parish ends Saturday at 6 p.m.

Louisiana has a closed primary, meaning that you have to be a registered Republican to vote in the Republican primary or a registered Democrat to vote in the Democratic primary. Independents cannot vote in for the presidential primary. 

There are other measures on the ballot.