Residents line up to vote absentee in Doral

DORAL, Fla. (WSVN) -- After early voting ended Sunday, South Floridians are lining up to cast their absentee ballots Monday morning.

At 8 a.m. the polls opened and a small line had formed outside the Miami-Dade County Elections Department. "I was torn between coming in early tomorrow or coming in early today," said one voter. "I said, 'Well, let's come in early today.'"

Some residents came out ot vote before heading to work while others wanted to avoid the lines on Election Day. "My sister was here for five hours yesterday, so just trying to get ahead," he said.

By 9 a.m. the line had grown and Robert Bonachea had cast his absentee ballot. "Yes, it's like five pages long, which is quite a bit, a lot of amendments, and it takes a bit of time," he said.

Bonachea said he did his research prior to casting his ballot, so it did not take him as long. "It took about 15 minutes."

Sunday, however, there was chaos outside the elections department. Polls opened at 1 p.m., and within an hour of opening, they were forced to close due to being short-staffed and only had one working printer.

However, by 5 p.m. the Miami-Dade County Elections Department reopened and allowed those who had been waiting to cast their votes. Some voters were turned away, but they returned on Monday.

The Miami-Dade Elections Department will remain open until 5 p.m. to accept absentee ballots.

Those in Broward County must call ahead and schedule an appointment to cast an absentee ballot in person.

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