Many eager to be the first to be heard in election 2006

The line began forming more than a half hour before the polls opened Saturday morning, with people milling around waiting to cast their vote for the Aug. 15 primary.

When the polls opened at 10 a.m., voters waited even longer to vote while a glitch in the card-activation machines prevented them from accessing their ballots on the touchscreen machines.

"The card activators weren't recording the type of ballots, but we have corrected the problem," Clerk Alan Glover said.

Election worker Cookie Callahan said she was surprised to see so many people come out early on a Saturday to vote.

"I've been doing elections for 20 years, and this is surprising," Callahan said. "I know a lot of these people because they always vote early. I keep working (the elections) so that I can see people that I only get to see every two years."

James King, 26, was one of those in line to make his opinion known.

"This is the first opportunity, and it's good to get it done so I don't have to worry about it on Election Day," King said. "The governor's race will be really interesting this year because Guinn isn't running."

The race for governor was a motivating factor to get Richard Mingon, 50, out to the polls.

"There's a lot to do in this state, and we have a good slate of candidates to vote for, instead of who do you vote against," Mingon said.

In the afternoon, 18-year-old Jack Maloney came to cast his vote for the first time.

"It felt very good to vote. I've always felt it was important. Since I was old enough to understand politics, (my parents) have always told me about the right to vote and how important it is," Maloney said.

Maloney's parents, Mike and Karen Pavlakis, came to vote with their son.

"He was so excited when he got his sample ballot and was really looking forward to voting," Karen Pavlakis said.

Glover said people who vote early usually do it in every election, because of conflicts or convenience.

"They are a very identifiable group. I'll bet that the people voting today have voted on the first Saturday in previous elections," Glover said.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.