OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Before the power went out at the Douglas County Election Commission Office on Friday, early voters were already met with long lines.
Aaron Brown is just one of many that showed up to cast their ballot, just days ahead of the 2020 election.
"I thought this was going to be a half-hour, 45 minutes so I wasn’t planning on being here for 3 hours or four hours. I figured other people must be hungry too,” he said, referring to the pizza he ordered and handed out to other voters.
Others brought their kids, pets and most certainly their patience.
"I decided it was worth it to wait in line to cast my vote," said one voter.
"Got to get err’ done," said another.
Early voting data offers some clues into the 2020 electorate.
According to the United States Elections Project, in the states that report party registration, Democrats have a 17 percentage point lead in early votes over republicans.
But, with four days left in the election, that number is narrowing.
"I think every vote is important. We got to do our job," said a voter at the Douglas County Election Commission Office.
Douglas County Election Commissioner, Brian Kruse says the Friday and Monday before Election Day are always busy, but this year is different.
"This crowd is by far the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen for early voting. It's wonderful,” he said.
Kruse says this year there are more than 373,000 thousand registered voters, that’s up 23,000 from the 2016 election.
He predicts 70 percent of those will vote early, leaving Nov. 3 quieter than in years past.
"I am going to guess your lines at your polling place are actually going to be shorter than they are here,” he said.
Kruse says they will start counting early voting ballots on Monday, but the first reports will not be released until 8 p.m. pm on Election Day.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox