GREEN BAY, Wis (NBC 26) -- The line, if you want to call it that, started forming at 6:30 am Tuesday morning at the Green Bay Plaza polling site.
"Pulled up and saw a lot of cars in the parking lot and thought it was going to be fairly busy inside," said Michael Boughton a Green Bay voter.
"It was not what I expected. There weren't as many people as I thought there was going to be. I thought it was going to be a really long wait and a long process but it wasn't," said Kailyn Oyer another Green Bay voter.
The city of Green Bay hired nearly 700 poll workers for this election, they then equipped poll workers with the equipment and safety gear recommended for voters and poll workers to feel safe, while doing so. Karen Schley, one of the Chief Inspectors at the Green Bay Plaza polling site says they have utilized precautions including plexiglass being installed between poll workers and voters, face masks for all employees, and a steady routine of sanitizing voting stations. Some voters appreciated the extra steps taken for everyone's safety during the pandemic.
"The ease of which it took place. No lines, everybody was organized, everything was coordinated, it was a good experience," said Roger Eastman a Green Bay voter.
But with over 50 percent of registered voters mailing in their ballots or dropping them off, the wait at polling sites across Green Bay on election day was not what voters expected.
"I would say 10 minutes (waiting), not even. It really was not that long. I was expecting it to be longer," adds Oyer.
"Probably closer to five, it's actually the quickest one I've ever done," adds Boughton.
That's right, wait times to cast ballots at some polling sites in Green Bay took less time than it took many folks, to convince themselves voting in this year's election was the right move.
"Some people come and you tell them they have to register and they go, oh. And then they come back like five minutes later because we have a nice registration table with people here to help them, "explains Karen Schley a Chief Inspector at the site.
This is what democracy is supposed to look like. And while many would have endured a lengthy line to have their voice heard, all too many more are just proud to have the right to partake in the democratic process.
"I'm proud to be able to do it. This is an honor and privilege so I hope other people look at it the same way," adds Eastman.
