ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — There are two weeks left until the Nov. 8 presidential election, but some Central Florida voters are taking advantage of early voting, which began Monday in 50 of the state's 67 counties.
About 16,900 people voted (today) on the first day of early voting in Orange County; waiting on party breakdown #WFTV
— Michael Lopardi (@MLopardiWFTV) October 25, 2016
Most voters said they were able to get in and out in less than five minutes on the first day of early voting.
“I didn't want to stand in a long lines, so I just wanted to come in, cast my vote and go on with my life,” said voter Joyce Trimble.
Related: 9 Facts about Early Voting
Polls in Volusia and Seminole counties opened at 7 a.m.
“Last election, it was so much hassle. I mean, even at this location, the line, cars was packed all up the road,” said voter Josie Clark.
Depending on the county, early voting will start between Monday and Saturday and run until Nov. 5 or 6.
Orange County resident Marvin Woodard was one of the first people lined up outside his polling place Monday morning.
"We can't wait," he said. "I think that we need to go ahead and vote as soon as you possibly can."
As contested and scrutinized as the general election is expected to be, Woodard was sure there would be issues on Election Day and didn't want to have to deal with them.
"I have a vision that by Nov. 8, there may be a lot of difficulties, a lot of situations that we may not be able to control," he said.
People mailing in their ballots for early voting instead of going to a polling place need to follow instructions completely, Orange County Supervisor of Elections spokeswoman Linda Tanko said.
If a voter does not fill out the ballot correctly, it may not get counted, she said.
"Make sure that you sign that return envelope, the white return envelope," she said. "There is a huge red box on the back of it. Make sure that you sign it."
Cowles added five early voting sites to meet demand, increasing the total to 17.
“We have also put in a line walker, who will be outside greeting voters and checking their status,” Cowles said.
The elections office also posted wait times online to show which locations are the busiest.
More than 60,000 people already voted by mail in Orange County.
The votes won't be tabulated until Election Day.
Cox Media Group
