West Michigan prepares for record voter turn-out

WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - It's a story that has been repeating over and over since early voting began nationwide, lines stretched down the street as voters wait to make their voices heard.

People were lined up Monday morning at the Kalamazoo City Clerk's office to drop off or cast absentee ballots for the race, and the lines are predicted to get crazier Tuesday.

In the 2004 election between Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush, 125 million people voted, which is about 88 percent of registered voters.

In 2008, the number is expected to be somewhere between 125 and 200 million voters, one third of voters are expected to have cast their votes early.

Local election officials are working overtime to get things ready for the expected record turnout in West Michigan.

Mount Zion Baptist Church will be the scene of voting Tuesday, and workers were getting everything set up Monday, the actual ballots will remain under lock and key until Tuesday at seven am.

Monday, the City Clerk's Office was swamped with absentee voters. In 2008, Kalamazoo County had double the absentee voting that it saw in 2004.

"I figured it would be so busy tomorrow, I'd rather do it in my own home, take my ballot and study it," said Dorothy Kleppen, who voted absentee.

Kalamazoo's Deputy City Clerk says that workers are ready for a record turnout.

"We've added extra poll workers, extra booths, 20 to 25 booths per precinct," said Virginia VanderRoest, Kalamazoo Deputy City Clerk.

City and township clerks are encouraging voters to look over their sample ballots early to save time once they step up to the booth to fill in their choices.

To speed things up, bring a picture ID, a picture ID is not required to vote, but it will make the process faster. Perhaps most importantly, bring patience.

"We hope voters will all come out," said VanderRoest. "We want everyone to come out, it's your right to vote, we're here to make sure you can."

Something else to keep in mind, if you have the ability to do so, consider heading to the polls between nine and eleven am and two and four pm, which is when the lines tend to be lighter.