Election Turnout

Tools

By Nichole Szemerei

Story Published: Nov 4, 2008 at 3:00 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 4, 2008 at 6:00 PM MST

BILLINGS - Polls opened here in Montana Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. at MSU-Billings College of Technology. A line had been building since before 7 a.m. but by around 8 a.m., it slowed significantly.

For about an hour after the polls opened at Precinct 53, two people were turning in their ballots per minute.

"That was our main rush. It’s always hard when you have 20-30 people standing there before you even open the polls," says Tonia Fisher Clark, Chief Judge of Precinct 53.

But by 8 a.m., "There wasn't a line, I thought there for sure would be," says voter Kari Harcharik.

Tonia Fisher-Clark says she doesn't expect to see another big rush because 40%-to-42% of the 1,900 voters in this precinct voted early.

"My folks both do their ballots at home and I just like to actual coming out and doing it instead of filling them out at home. It just feels like you're actually taking part that way and of course I like the sticker!" says Harcharik.

With the recent national attention on voter fraud, officials are paying extra attention to the way they oversee their precincts.

“We have to be much more careful to watch and see that people are registered to vote here and haven't received an absentee ballot. We have never had a problem, our precinct has always run smoothly but we're just watching more closely," says Fisher-Clark.

But line or not, Kari Harcharik is excited Election Day is finally here. "Like I said, I like the partaking of it, but I also like that it's over!" says Harcharik.

Well, sort of. Although we're not waiting in long lines, we're still forced to wait, for the official announcement of the new President of the United States.

Fisher-Clark says she expects the lines to pick up a little bit after work around 5 p.m., but she says she doesn't predict it will be an issue.

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