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Nearly 24,000 Mecklenburg County residents cast ballots in early voting, which ended Saturday.
That's a 5 percent increase over the 2007 early-vote totals, when polling places countywide were open for 13 days in advance of the election - compared with eight days this year.
Lack of money at the Mecklenburg Board of Elections shortened this year's calendar, said elections supervisor Michael Dickerson.
Although the total increase in early voting was small, some locations had nearly double the turnout this year over 2007, when Republican mayor Pat McCrory won re-election over Democrat Beverly Earle.
Turnout at some libraries in predominately African-American neighborhoods was particularly strong. Balloting at the Beatties Ford Road library was up 94 percent. The West Boulevard library had an 85 percent increase.
Fifty-one percent of early voters were registered Democrats, with 32 percent Republican and 17 percent unaffiliated.
Dickerson predicted turnout in Tuesday's general election to be 27 percent, an increase from the 24 percent in 2007.
At the University City library, about 60 people were waiting in line when the doors opened at 10 a.m. The line was still out the door 11/2 hours later. "It's been very steady all week," said poll worker Phyllis Smith. "Almost like the presidential election."
Outside in line, airline employee Lynda Gresham-Moore, 59, said she had a tough time deciding whom to support in the hotly contested mayor's race.
With Democrat Anthony Foxx and Republican John Lassiter agreeing on so many issues, she said, it was important for her to see each candidate in person at campaign events and watch a televised debate before deciding.
"I think we need some fresh ideas," Gresham-Moore said.
She planned to vote for Foxx because "he puts the community first," she said - and he graduated from the same high school she did, West Charlotte.
Building contractor Steve Miller, 48, said it was easy for him to decide to cast his vote for Lassiter. "We need to cut the tax rates we're paying and better manage the money we do take in," Miller said. He was impressed that Lassiter favored rolling back at least part of the property tax hike that City Council passed in 2006.
After early voting ended Saturday afternoon, Foxx and Lassiter met for their final debate before the election.
Sponsored by the Hispanic community group Frente a Frente (Face to Face), the debate drew more than 100 people to the Plaza Fiesta Carolinas shopping center near Carowinds. The event was translated into Spanish for the largely Hispanic audience.
For 90 minutes, the candidates mostly agreed on issues such as immigration reform, economic development and the need to foster better relations with lawmakers in Raleigh and Washington.
Neither Foxx nor Lassiter said a negative word about the other - even when asked specifically how Charlotte would change for the worse if their opponent were elected.
