Early voting numbers exceed expectations

With the line of voters stretched down the hall and out into the lobby for more than two hours Saturday morning, Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.

"We knew we were going to be busy the first hour, but people were lined up all the way out into the (entry) hallway for two-and-a-half hours, and it has been steady all day. I expect we'll have had 500-600 through here by the end of the day," Glover said.

With early voting under way and just over two weeks until the Sept. 13 special election to replace Dean Heller in the House of Representatives, Carson City voters were taking advantage of the chance to cast their ballots.

Democrat Kate Marshall and Republican Mark Amodei are vying for the seat in the House along with Independent American Tim Fasano and Independent Helmuth Lehmann.

"Next Saturday, I don't expect it to be too busy because of the Labor Day weekend, but election day (Tues., Sept. 13), there will be no place to park because of traffic court the same day," he said.

Glover said he attributes the big turnout to what's been going on in Washington, D.C.

"My gut reaction is that people are rather upset about Congress right now and they want to have a say in things," he said.

Voters expressed a variety of reasons for turning out Saturday.

"We just want to get it over with so when the stinking phone calls start coming in, we can say we already voted. With a Republican and Democrat in our house, we get twice as many calls," said Alice Mueller.

Lindsay Christensen said early voting is the way to go.

"It's convenient and it fits into our schedule, and if you get it done the first day, you don't have to worry about it," he said.

Liz Sutton said being able to vote on a Saturday is convenient. Her brother John Sutton was a bit more glib, mocking television campaign commercials.

"I'm steering the election with a steady hand," he said.

The special election was extra special for Abraham Ravikumar and his wife.

"I think people are excited and want to see a change (in Washington), and personally, it's exciting because this is the first time for us to vote as U.S. citizens," he said.

Kevin Benson said he believes every election is important.

"The person who wins this election will fill a vacancy that will give them the advantage as the incumbent in the next election," Benson said.

David Sarnowski said the numbers matter.

"We only have three (House) representatives, and right now we're lacking one vote, so this all helps. Unfortunately, it's going to cost us a little for the special election," Sarnowski said.

Bob Reardon said voting is something he holds dear.

"You need to be able to express how you feel no matter what your party is," he said. "It should be done by all the people."