Saturday Was the Last Day to Vote Early In Florida

Voting locations closed at 7 p.m. Saturday

On the last day of early voting in Florida, eager voters, many with chairs and other provisions, lined up for hour-long waits at voting locations throughout South Florida.

Voters still standing in line before 7 p.m. Saturday got a chance to vote, but the line was cut off after that time, according to Carolina Lopez, the spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Elections Department.

She told NBC 6 South Florida that the average wait time in the county was four hours long.

Karen Bryant, who waited in line at 4: 30 a.m. Friday and didn't vote until two hours later, said a dark and early start was her best bet to vote after several failed attempts earlier this week.

"Really quick, they were very helpful, a lot of people there to help you expedite it," she said. "Then we went right through, voted, and it was maybe 10 minutes at the most."

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Very long wait times during early voting are one of the issues concerning leaders from organizations including the Florida Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters, both of which unsuccessfully asked Gov. Rick Scott to extend early voting one more day.

"Nothing you can really do, you want to vote, you've got to wait in line," said Roberto Montoya, who waited two hours Friday.

Patrick Campbell was in line for about the same amount of time.

"People died so we can vote, so what is an hour, two hours," he said.

In South Florida Saturday, actress Kerry Washington joined Obama For America-Florida to encourage voters to cast a ballot early for President Barack Obama. Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett was also in town urging for support for the president.

At the Davie/Cooper City Branch Library in South Florida, officials with the Debbie Wasserman Schultz campaign said that a man was arrested after he was found with 17 of the congresswoman's signs in the backseat of a vehicle.

Early voting sites are listed on the Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties election websites.

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