Early voters pack courthouses

The first day of early voting went off without a hitch Saturday, and Carson City Clerk Recorder Alan Glover - decked out in a star-spangled tie - couldn't have been any more pleased.

"Everything's turned out great," he said.

Scheduled to open the polls at 9 a.m., Glover decided to let the crowd in 10 minutes early. At its peak, the line of voters stretched across the first floor of the courthouse, out the front door and down the steps.

Glover said that was the norm until noon, when voters began to trickle in.

Carson City businessman Bill Burnaugh decided to cast his ballot just before 3 p.m., avoiding the morning crush, but finally freeing himself up for a trip.

"I came today because I'm going out of town tomorrow," he said. "I was supposed to leave last week, but delayed it until I could vote."

In the first two hours, Glover said, 300 people took advantage of early voting. By 2 p.m., another 200 made their way to the Musser Street courthouse to stand behind one of the 22 booths.

Glover said he hadn't seen any politicians on Saturday and wasn't expecting to see lame-duck Gov. Kenny Guinn, since he is the first governor as long as Glover can remember, who isn't registered to vote in the capital city.

Polls will be open until 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and until 7 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 3.

Carson City's estimated 25,000 registered voters can take advantage of early voting until Nov. 3. Election Day is Nov. 7.

The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 31.

In Storey County, 17 out of nearly 2,500 registered voters found their way to the second floor of Virginia City's historic courthouse.

"I think it's because the sample ballots are still trickling in daily. I think once they get their sample ballots, business will be booming," said Doreen Bacus, the county's clerk/treasurer.

A delay in sample ballots being sent out by the printer arose when lawmakers decided to allow new voters to register closer to Election Day. Sequoia, which is printing ballots for most rural Nevada counties, had until Friday to mail the ballots to voters.

In Lyon County, about 100 voters of the county's 22,470, made it into the County Clerks Office in Yerington.

During the week, voters may cast their ballots at the Lyon County Administration Office at 801 Overland Loop, Suite 201, in Dayton.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.