Crowds line up to vote Saturday

Only those registered before Oct. 25 will be allowed to cast ballots Tuesday on the official, nationwide election day. Polls open across the state at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7:30 p.m.

Posted 11:59 a.m. Nov 3, 2012 — Updated 12:21 p.m. Nov 4, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. — Beautiful weather and the final day of early voting combined Saturday to draw crowds to polling locations across the Triangle. Some people waited up to two hours at the Talley Center on the campus of North Carolina State University.

"Waiting as long as you have to to get that job done is an American job," said Micah Langley.

The long lines emphasized the importance of the upcoming election for Avery Brewer.

My Ballot: Compare candidates side-by-side

At Shaw University in Raleigh, a famous face greeted voters to lined to cast their ballots.

"Are we going to re-elect President Barack Obama," bellowed former NBA player Kevin Johnson. "Yes," came the answer from the crowd. Johnson, now runs the city where he once ruled the court. He came from Sacramento, Calif., to rally young voters on Obama's behalf.

"It's the energy here that goes out to create the actions, the knocking on doors, that come Nov. 6 they get President Obama four more years," he said.

Anyone in line when polls closed was allowed to cast a vote, keeping poll workers busy into the evening.

It was the final opportunity for those who had not pre-registered to register and vote in the general election. Only those registered before Oct. 25 will be allowed to cast ballots Tuesday on the official, nationwide election day. Polls open across the state at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7:30 p.m.

At Chavis Community Center in Raleigh, voters lined up before the polls opened at 11 a.m. and by mid-afternoon they were wrapped around the building.

"I'll wait. It don't matter how long I have to wait, I'll wait," said Evelyn Hood. Other in line read books and played video games to pass the time.

"It's just good to see that there are people who want to get out and vote, you know, take a stand," said Karen Adkins.

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 2.7 million votes had been cast statewide, with 93 percent of those as in-person ballots at early voting sites. The total represents more than 40 percent of registered voters in North Carolina and has surpassed the 2.64 million early votes cast in 2008.

Suggest A Correction