Election Day at last

After the longest presidential election campaign in recent history, political yard signs that dot the area in towns and fields are about to become collectors' items -- or trash.

Some voters are looking forward to a respite from the incessant bombardment of campaign phone calls and commercials.

But for today, the excitement is almost palpable.

County Clerk Ken Bryant said Tuesday, Nov. 4, that Election Day this year has so far been "exciting! I'm tickled to death."

"We had record turnouts this morning at our polling locations," he said. "At 10 minutes to 6 (a.m.), they were lined up at St. Peter."

Bryant said despite the turnout, things were "moving smoothly."

Bryant offered high praise to election workers in Saline County, calling them "the greatest," adding that he thinks there should be a "Thank you to election workers day."

"We really didn't know what to expect," in terms of turnout, Bryant said. "But absentee voters in the last two days took a real jump. We are still waiting on today's mail, but I expect to see about 850 absentee ballots."

Voters who made it a point to avoid lines by going early had a little surprise of their own, Bryant said.

"One voter told me he'd been concerned about long lines, so he came in very early -- and discovered he was right in the middle of a lot of people who'd decided to do the same thing."

Bryant made the rounds of all of Marshall's polling places between 8 and 9 a.m., and said there were no lines at that time.

He said he expects voting to remain steady all day.

Bryant also emphasized that anyone who is in line at 7 p.m. when polls close will be allowed to vote.

Election workers will lock the doors behind the last person in line and would-be voters who show up afterwards will be "out of luck," he said.

The Associated Press is reporting that turnout is high across the state, with voters in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas experiencing up to two-hour waits in line.

A few voting problems have been reported in urban areas, according to the AP, but most have been ironed out.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has projected a near-record turnout: 76 percent of the state's 4.2 million registered voters.

That group could include more than 300,000 people who have registered since the beginning of the year, one-third of whom enrolled in the St. Louis region alone.

Only in 1992, when Bill Clinton won the first of his two terms in the White House, did a higher proportion of Missouri voters -- 78 percent -- cast ballots on Election Day. But should Carnahan's predictions hold true Tuesday, the actual number of voters this year would be greater.

Contact Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net