Lighter Than Expected Voter Turnout Kept Voting Brisk

TOMBALL, TX -- The lines of voters waiting to cast their ballots in the 2016 Presidential election were virtually non-existent in some Houston suburbs.

The Tomball Municipal Municipal Court Building was one of those locations.

"Its been pretty steady," said Greg Smith. "During early voting, the line was out the door, but not this time"

The average voting period took only a few minutes once they got in and were able to cast ballots.

Pamela Stone, who prefers election day voting to early voting, took the day off from work thinking her wait to cast her ballot would be much longer.

"I just wanted to get this over with" she said. "This is the worst election season, at least that I can remember."

Stone, who considers herself an independent, voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump, even though he was not her first choice.

Stone said it boiled down to the status quo and the revolving door of career politicians, and that despite Trump's flaws, he's probably the lesser of two evils.

"I come from a military background, and I just can't see how we can trust her," she said.

Some voters were turned away at the voting areas, but not for any reason other than they were in the wrong precinct, which a rule Harris County observes on election day.

Jorge Ramos, a naturalized American citizen with a Hillary Clinton sticker on the back of his car, was one of those.

"I am just glad it didn't take them long to tell me I was at the wrong place," he said as he climbed into his car and waved.

Farther west in nearby Cypress, Jessie Moreno voted earlier and waited an hour to cast his ballot.

"The lines were very long, but it went real quick," he said. "I was very surprised."

Like Ramos, Moreno saw his voting location change, and many of those realized this and were arriving as the polls were opening.

None of the voters seemed to experience any irregularities with voting equipment, but like Stone, they just wanted to get this election behind them.

Moreno, who also considers himself an independent voter, also voted for Trump, because he's not a politician.

"I vote for who I think will do the best job," he said. "I don't vote straight ticket."

Voting continues until 7 p.m. tonight.

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