Steady voting through midday

UNDATED - Thousands of north Georgians voted in the early hours of voting Tuesday, and voting remained steady through midday.

Hall County has 40 voting precincts open for Election Day 2008, and among the busiest was the Chicopee Agricultural Center on Calvary Church Road.

Poll Manager Ken Reed said the voters were ready and waiting before dawn.

"We had people pulled up at the gate this morning at 5 wanting to vote," Reed said. "We had three lines inside the lobby and lines coming out the door."

Reed said 200 people had cast ballots by 10 a.m. The center has more than 2,000 registered voters, and one of them was Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

Reed expects another rush of voters at lunch, and this evening before the polls close at 7 p.m.

Kurt Morris, Shannon Morris and Ned Beatty were the first in line at 6:30 a.m. at West Hall High School, a half hour before the polls opened.

"I just wanted to be here before the big crowd came," Kurt Morris said.

"You don't have an opinion unless you do something about it. That's why I'm here," Shannon Morris said.

Beatty said he's always voted on the traditional election day but he, too, wanted to beat the crowd.

"I want to get it over with and get to work. I don't want to be too late for work," Beatty said.

About 15 people were waiting in line outside Chestatee High School at 6:30, and by 70 the number had grown to almost 100.

Some people began lining up last night outside polling places in metro Atlanta.

While more than 2 million people have already voted, officials say some voters could be waiting into the night in part because of the presidential race.

The lengthy lines have fast become a familiar sight in Georgia as computer glitches and higher-than-expected turnout forced voters to wait as long as eight hours during advance voting last week.

But Georgia's early voting strategy is also expected to relieve the crush of voters descending on Georgia's more than 3,000 polling precincts Tuesday. More than 2 million people have already voted, accounting for 36 percent of Georgia's 5.6 million electorate.

"Our plan is to vote every voter that's in line in the time period that's allotted," said Annie Bright, elections director of Clayton County. "We're doing anything we can to get them all voted. Even if it takes all night."

Both political parties are dispatching hundreds of election monitors and attorneys to voting sites. The nonpartisan group Georgia Election Protection is also planning to deploy more than 600 volunteers to help resolve voting disputes on Tuesday. And Secretary of State Karen Handel's office said it has sent monitors around the state to help handle any problems.

Handel, a Republican, has been under fire by critics who say she should call for longer voting hours.

The Democratic Party of Georgia's chair proclaimed a voting "crisis," and other prominent Democrats have called for federal intervention to clear the way for extended hours, more voting machines and more staff.

Handel, though, has accused the critics of "grandstanding" and noted that any changes to election procedure first need to be cleared by the Department of Justice.

Voters, meanwhile, seem to be crossing their fingers in hopes the day will go off without a hitch.

"I would hope that we can act in an adult, responsible way," said Millie Rogers, a 61-year-old Marietta Republican who waited three hours to vote last week. "This is a right we have, and I hope everyone will behave in an appropriate way so nothing will happen."

Polls are open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Remember that a state-approved picture ID will be required to vote today and that anyone in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. (See separate story.)

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)