Not everybody voted early.
Polls in Maricopa were generally busy early Tuesday morning, though the number of voters had thinned a bit by late morning.
Some voters said they waited to cast their ballot on Election Day to maintain personal tradition.
Curt and Angie Kellum, residents of Sorrento, voted Tuesday morning at Desert Wind Middle School in Tortosa, where ballots were being filled out in the gymnasium.
Curt said they didn’t request early ballots, deciding instead to vote in-person.
“We’re traditionalists,” Angie Kellum added.
At Precinct 102 at Central Arizona College, Marian Jordan shared that sentiment after she had voted.
“It’s tradition to vote on Election Day,” she said.
Jordan said she wasn’t too surprised that traffic at the poll was light in the late morning.
“I didn’t expect a line,” she said. “It’s never really that bad here.”
Jim Jordan, a candidate for the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board who greeted voters at the college and later at Desert Wind, said the polls were busier earlier in the morning as people voted before heading to work.
Charles Johnson, 19, was voting for the first time on Tuesday.
Just beginning his Election Day tradition, he said he wanted to vote in-person after hearing stories about possible malfeasance.
“I didn’t feel comfortable doing it any other way,” he said, as he headed into the precinct.
Tortosa resident McKay Monson, who also voted at Desert Wind, said he shared concerns about making sure his ballot was counted.
“I just don’t trust the mail,” he said.
Monson said he was glad the election cycle was nearing an end.
“Nobody is talking the issues,” he said, referring to the persistent stream of political ads in recent weeks. “I am more than ready for it to be over.”
