With voter turnout expected to be high today, hoards of Madison residents have been voting by absentee ballot at the City Clerk's office over the past week.
According to Mayoral spokesperson Melanie Conklin, 10,053 people have voted in the Clerk's office as of Monday.
Dane County Clerk Joe Parisi noted that in the 2000 election, Dane County received approximately 6,000 absentee ballots. This year the county is expecting 25,000 to 30,000.
While Parisi said lines on Election Day are inevitable, he pointed to steps Madison has taken to reduce lines on campus.
In the past, two wards voted at Memorial Union, he said. But this year, one of the wards will vote in the Pyle Center. This should ease the problem of long lines, Parisi said.
According to Deputy City Clerk Sharon Christensen, there have been long lines at the City Clerk's office since last Monday.
Monday, the line wound through the building and out onto the street. College Democrats member Liz Sanger was standing near the line, encouraging people to stay despite the wait.
Rob Melville, who works in the area, had been in line for 40 minutes and was not even inside the building yet.
\Lines at the polling place [Tuesday] might not be as long as the clerk's office,"" Parisi said.
A concern earlier in the election process was that overseas absentee ballots might not be received by the city in time to be counted. But according to Christensen, approximately 70 percent of overseas ballots that have been sent out have been returned.
Voters should double-check their polling place and be sure to bring identification. Bringing along proof of address would not hurt, Christensen said, because people often think they are registered even though they are not.
