ST. JOSEPH CO. — State law gives every voter the opportunity to cast their ballot early. You can have an absentee ballot mailed to you, or you can go to your county's voting headquarters. But some voters aren't so sure about the process.

Thousands of early voters are going to the polls.

"With the size of the turnout, I think it's a real good idea," said early voter Ward Kremer.

Florence Starling cast her ballot early too. But she didn't like the way it was handled at the County-City Building.

"I wish now I could take that vote back and go vote on Election Day to be sure," she said.

Starling told WSBT she filled out her ballot and handed it to a poll worker. But she says that worker simply set it on her desk, and the ballot wasn't secured.

WSBT followed early voter Ward Kremer through the process to check it out. After waiting a few minutes in a short line, Kremer met with a poll worker, got his ballot and voted.

"I haven't been here 15 minutes," he said when it was all over.

But while he was in the process, we spotted someone else's ballot on a desk — unattended.

"We don't go through all this work for a person's vote not to count," said St. Joseph County Clerk Rita Glenn.

Glenn said early votes are protected. At the end of each day, every ballot turned in is matched with the early voting application form.

From there, the ballots are put in a vault in the courthouse. On Election Day, early ballots are taken to that voter's precinct and counted with all the others.

"It's probably the safest way out there," said Rita Glenn.

Still, Florence Starling says she'll never vote early again.

"Will my envelope get in a vault that she's talking about?" Starling asked. "Will it get counted? Will it get lost?"

As St. Joseph County Clerk, Rita Glenn told WSBT anyone can talk to her about questions or concerns.

You can vote early every day until November 4, just be sure to bring photo identification.

In St. Joseph County, early voters can cast their ballots every day of the week up until the Monday before the election. Early voting polls are open at the County-City Building in downtown South Bend and at the corner of Lincoln Way and Spring St. in Mishawaka.

Early Voting Times:
Monday - Friday 8:00 - 4:30
Saturdays 8:00 - 4:00
Sundays 12:00 - 4:00

Voters also need to remember to vote on both sides of their ballot. If they forget to turn it over, they'll miss public questions like school board elections.

For more election headlines and voter resources, go to WSBT.com's Campaign ‘08 section.