Eastern Iowa election officials reporting higher-than-expected turnout

Polls around Iowa opened at 7 a.m., and already election officials say turnout is better than expected.

Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert said he hasn't gotten to look at the initial turnout quite yet, but his staff members are saying the numbers - more than 13 percent of registered voters had turned out by 11 a.m. - are higher than they expected.

'Numbers are above what we were predicting at quite a few sites,” Weipert said.

He said Johnson County voting has been smooth for the first two and a half hours, but he said to expect busy polling places and long lines throughout the day.

Michelle Balhan, a 45-year-old Iowa City resident and tattoo artist, said she waited until this morning to vote because she needed more time to research candidates. Kristin Jokela, a 23-year-old University of Iowa student, said she also felt more prepared to vote on Election Day rather than voting early.

Both women declined to say who got their vote for president.

'It's different from the last election,” Jokela said. 'I just hope that whoever happens (to win), it's the best for our country and they make the right decisions for our country.”

Rob Pohren, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, said he voted for Donald Trump this morning.

Pohren said he chose Trump after his initial favorite, Marco Rubio, dropped out of the race. He said he likes the 'passion” Trump has for the country.

Rachel Collins. a 19-year-old University of Iowa student, said she decided to vote for Hillary Clinton after Bernie Sanders didn't win the nomination. She said she hopes this election shines light on the need for bipartisanship and who voters choose to elect.

'I hope this election kind of brings some clarity to the changes we need to make,” she said.

In Linn County, more than 17 percent of registered voters had turned out to the polls by 11 a.m., according to election officials. Adding the 42,168 absentee ballots to the 26,580 ballots cast at polling locations this morning, Linn County officials report more than 44 percent of registered voters have cast ballots so far in this election.

Officials said at least two polling locations saw lines form around 6:30 a.m. today.

Election officials said voters lined up outside the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 405, at 1211 Wiley Blvd. SW, and at Salem United Methodist Church, 3715 33rd Ave. SW, to vote.

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said another update on voting is expected around 3 p.m. on the county's elections website.

Miller reported a couple of incidents at polling locations that officials had to deal with this morning. He said a protester at the River of Life Ministries polling location, 3801 Blairs Ferry Road NE, was yelling at voters in the parking lot early this morning, and Cedar Rapids police advised the man to leave the location. In another incident, a Kennedy High School student who had campaign signs on a vehicle parked near a polling location was told by police to take the signs down and move the vehicle.

Miller said voters can drop off absentee ballots on the second floor of the Auditor's Office, 935 Second St. SW, Cedar Rapids, by 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, in Winneshiek County, officials in the Auditor's Office said they had a total of 6,428 absentee ballots turned in by Tuesday morning.

Polls across Iowa remain open until 9 p.m.