Grover Partee has worked polling locations for three years. Nov. 4 he was working the Sunset Hill Community Club for the sixth time.

Partee said the club opened at 7 a.m. with a two-block long line.

"We couldn't even get them all in," he said while taking a break to puff on a cigar.

By noon, approximately 400 people had already voted and Partee said it was shaping up to be the largest turnout ever.

Ann Sutphen brought her daughter Kara Rhodes to vote with her at the Sunset Hill Community Club Nov. 4.

Sutphen said she was sad this would be the last year to vote in person before the state goes to an entirely absentee ballot system and wanted to make sure Kara experienced it.

"I went with my mother to vote so I wanted to make sure she came with me," Sutphen said.

At the Sunset Hill Community Club, Mary Perillo made sure she used the paper ballots being offered as an alternative to electronic voting machines.

Though the unreliability of the new voting machines frightens her, Perillo said she likes voting in person.

"I like the physicality of being there and casting my vote and sticking it in the machine," she said. "I get weepy. It's so democratic."

Perillo said she thinks large voter turnout this year is due to the increased use of technology, such as texting and Internet, to reach young people.

The Neuerburgs came out to vote at Trinity United Methodist Church because it's easy for them to vote in person and because they like to see their neighbors.

They were pretty confident in the cause of this year's large voter turnout.

"Obama is getting everyone excited," Christine said.

"People are looking forward to change," Jason said. "They're ready for a new president."

"I've been waiting to do this for how many months? Two years," said Jean Bowman with her dog Ivy after voting at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Bowman said the Internet and Barack Obama are causing a lot more people to get excited about voting this year.

Acacio and Maria Domar were at Trinity United Methodist Church. Acacio was casting a ballot, while Maria, who is from Portugal, lent her support.

Acacio said he is anxious to see how a young candidate can perform against and older candidate.

"The younger generation is voting more and more," he said. "Hopefully, it will be a trend."

Charlotte Hachler, a junior at the Bush School, spent the day volunteering at the polling location at St. Paul's United Church of Christ.

Her friend is part of an organization called T-Shirts for America that was encouraging students to volunteer at polling locations.

Hachler said she has noticed a large voter turnout because people are more interested in politics after eight years under President Bush.

Jake Mountjoy and Kyle Wharton voted at St. Paul's United Church of Christ Nov. 4.

"It's the greatest privilege as a U.S. citizen," Mountjoy said. "We have a huge government and this is how we tell them what we want."

Mountjoy said people are turning out to vote in larger numbers this year because of the poor administration of the last eight years. The more people's lives are affected by their government, the more they want to make a difference, he said.

"People want to be a part of something bigger," Wharton said.