By Aaron Vehling
Voter turnout was high Tuesday at four local polling stations, according to area election judges.
North Branch City Hall, one of the city of North Branchís two polling stations, opened Tuesday with people standing in a long line outside in the rain, said head election judge Terry Wigand. People began showing up at around 6:15 a.m.

ìWe have had lots of new registrations and new voters,î Wigand said.

At around noon the lines had tapered off but there still was a consistent flow of voters.

At the Chisago County Senior Center, the other NB polling station, the situation was similar.
The first voters began showing up shortly after 6 a.m., said head election judge Bridgitte Konrad. People here, too, waited in the cold rain to cast their votes.

ìWe have had tons of new registrations,î she said. ìWeíve had a really high turnout.î
In Stacy, head election judge Barb Cummings said that she had not seen city hall as busy as it was since Jesse Ventura was elected governor in 1998.

She, too, has seen a number of new voters at the polls.
Kim Hugger, head election judge at Harris City Hall, said that as of mid-day, she had seen a steady stream of voters.

ìIíve seen a lot of younger first-time voters,î she said.
Things were fairly calm around mid-day at the city hall, but Hugger said the morning was quite different.

ìIt was really busy when we first opened,î she said.
Hugger said that traffic will pick up again in the evening.
ìI think the eveningís going to be tough,î she said.

Voting problems have been minimal, all four election judges said.
There were instances of people attempting to vote at the wrong polling places at the senior center in North Branch.

Voters in Harris experienced a more debilitating sitatuion early Tuesday morning. The third ballot to be cast jammed the machine, but county auditor Dennis Freed came to the rescue with a new machine and voting has since gone without a hitch, Hugger said.

By mid-afternoon, two-thirds of registered voters had voted at Fish Lake Town Hall.

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