Voters wait in line to turn in early ballots

Long lines snaked out of early voting sites across the Valley on Tuesday as voters waited up to 90 minutes to cast a ballot in this year's presidential election. Fears of standing in even longer lines on Election Day prompted many to vote early as county election officials anticipated record turnout.

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In preparation for what could be a long night of counting ballots, county workers on Tuesday were busy testing the accuracy of their voting equipment as observers from the Republican and Democratic parties looked on.

"We've had an unbelievable amount of interest in this election," said Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell.

Outside a polling station Tuesday in Mesa, where voters waited between 45 minutes and an hour to cast their ballots, enthusiasm was high despite the long lines.

Jeff Wolf, 52, of Mesa said he didn't mind standing for an hour. He also said it went a lot faster than the last time he voted in a presidential election.

"This was nothing compared to Florida in 2004, when we waited in line for six hours," he said Tuesday afternoon.

In other early voting locations throughout the county, there were reports of even longer lines.

Yvonne Reed, a spokeswoman for the county elections department, said lines in Scottsdale ran as long as 90 minutes.

In downtown Phoenix, county workers ran early ballots through vote tabulation machines.

Purcell said there will be more than two dozen foreign media organizations watching the vote-counting process next week.

Because Arizona Sen. John McCain tops the GOP presidential ticket, international attention on Maricopa County has been high.

With one week left until the election, more than 465,277 early ballots have been cast, according to election officials. More than 861,000 early ballots have been requested.

There are more than 1.7 million registered voters in Maricopa County. Election officials are expecting 80 to 85 percent of registered voters to cast ballots this year.

Since the 2006 election, Purcell said the county has registered more than 300,000 new voters - with about 115,000 registered since September's primary.

The deadline to request an early ballot has passed, but those still wanting to vote early can show up at one of the 10 early voting locations in the Valley.

Those locations are listed on the county's Web site at www.maricopa.gov.

To avoid long waits, election officials recommend going to the polls between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., as lines tend to be longer early in the morning and later in the afternoon.

County officials also want to remind voters to show up Tuesday with their early ballots filled out so they do not have to wait in the line. They can walk up to the front, turn in their ballot and leave.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Ballots must be in the hands of election officials by the time the polls close or they will not count.