Crowds at early voting sites in Mecklenburg County continued to be heavy Saturday, continuing a weeklong trend of healthy turnouts.
Voting will continue from 1 to 4 p.m. today.
Elections director Michael Dickerson said around 10,000 people voted Saturday, pushing the county's total to 100,000 with a week still to go.
“It's been a tremendous success with the number of folks who have shown up,” Dickerson said.
The early-voting center at the Central Piedmont Community College building on 7th Street had lines that lasted up to one and a half hours.
By the time Brian Hilton arrived, the lines were dying down. He waited less than a half-hour and said he was very glad he chose to vote early.
“I figured it would go a lot smoother if I voted early, and it did,” he said.
Just down the road, at the Plaza-Midwood library, the voting line stretched around the building right up until closing time at 5 p.m. Many waited more than an hour to cast their votes.
Derek Johnson said it still beat voting on Nov. 4.
“If early voting is this busy, imagine how bad it will be on Election Day,” he said. Staff writer Jim Morrill contributed.