News 12 First at Five, October 29, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.---Before you go to the polls we want to make sure you know what to expect come election day. How long will it take to vote? When is the best time to go? We went in search of those and answers and more.

Advance voters looking to beat election day crowds are being greeted with disappointment.

"I thought oh my goodness," said voter Tanya Brown. "How am I going to get in there in my lunch hour?"

Tanya had 30 minutes to get in, out, and back to work.

"I'm working with short time," said Tanya. "I think I'm past that time."

We all know time is money, but shouldn't she have a little wiggle room given she was out voting?

"Well we were just talking about that," said voter Suzanne Sombar. "We were going to go back and look it up and see what the policy states."

If you work during election day hours from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. employers owe you up to 2 hours to vote. if you work a 9 to 5 job you're on your own.

Advance voting offers 3 voting locations. You'll have 52 polling locations on election day. That should help with long lines.

"Well you're certainly not going to walk in and walk out," said Lynn Bailey who is director of the Richmond County Board of Elections. "You're going walk and stand in line. You're going to wait probably about 45 minutes to get to the booth."

"It's just time consuming," said Suzanne. "I didn't want to spend that amount of time from work."

Bailey says the best times to vote are around 10:30 in the morning or 2:30 in the afternoon.

"There are elections like this one that could be where it doesn't matter what time you come there are going to be lines," Bailey cautions.

The latest numbers from Richmond County show over 3,250 voters on Tuesday. Nearly 21,000 people have participated in the early and advance voting. That accounts for one in five registered voters.

The Georgia Secretary of State says advance voting will not be extended into Saturday or Monday. It will end Friday.

You are encouraged to take a look at sample ballots before you vote. To see sample ballots in our area, click here.