Wake breaks 2016 record as residents rush to cast ballots on final day of early voting

"It is a big election this time," said Jessica Johnson, a voter who was in line to vote on Saturday.

Johnson said she is voting for the first time.

"We have been all watching the debates and keeping up with it," Johnson said.

What a time to get involved in the political process with hotly contested races in the middle of a pandemic. Johnson's mother, Andrea, came to the polls with her.

"This is the world they know," Andrea Johnson said.

Gerry Cohen, a member of the Wake County Board of Elections, posted on Twitter that Wake County exceeded its 2016 total during early voting. Wake County tallied 531,256 votes in 2016. Cohen said "final early vote plus accepted mail to date is north of 535,000."

WRAL News talked to a few people at one of the Cary polling sites about why they wanted to get in on this last day of early voting. One of the big reasons was they wanted to make sure they did not miss out and that they did get counted.

"I just think Election Day is going to be extremely busy with long lines just due to the fact of people not doing things on time," said voter James Mishoe.

The same concern changed Tabitha Taylor’s plans. This year, she said she did not want to chance it.

"I usually vote on Election Day," Taylor said. "I felt like the crowds were going to be too much, and I wanted to make sure everything is done and over with."

Lines were not too bad on the last day of early voting. Taylor said when she arrived, there seemed to be more people asking for votes than casting them. With so many people who have already voted this election, she thinks finding out who the winners are will require more patience.

"I think it's going to be a close race and an all-nighter," Taylor said.