Busy election day sees lines, traffic snares

While voter turnout numbers in the Tuesday election won't be immediately available, the intermittent lines and traffic delays are leading some to believe the 2016 election will see a high level of voting.

Some voters at Horizon Church off of Columbiana Road who came to cast their ballot around 1:30 p.m. said they had tried to come earlier in the day, but the lines were too long, so they decided to come back later.

Yuehua Lin said her neighbor had told her the wait was around 45 minutes, but she said she thinks she came at just the right time.

"I think it was a reasonable amount of time," she said.

By around 3:30 p.m., however, the line at Horizon had grown once more.

Across town in Cahaba Heights, voting at the New Merkle Center combined with carpool lines from Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights caused some morning headaches, with residents  posting on Facebook about their inability to park.

At about 2:15 p.m., as the carpool line began to form once more, traffic on Dolly Ridge Road was slowing to little more than a crawl.

Tuesday's vote not only included the national presidential and congressional elections, but also included a slew of county and state issues for voters to consider.

Steven Benefiled, who studied political science in college and voted at Horizon Church, said he didn't want to share who he voted for, but that he had many strong feelings about the state amendments, of which there were 14.

With regard to Amendment 2, which involves the funding of state parks, Benefield said that in general he is against earmarking, but in this case doesn't understand why parks should be any different than other departments within the state government. However, he said the amendment is somewhat of a trap, because it also allows for private companies to operate and maintain park facilities, and that he is against privatization.

For Amendment 14, Benefield said he was in favor of the measure, as he understands why only the delegation from a certain area would be interested in voting for local bills.

At the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce meeting, Chamber President Karen Odle encouraged members to vote if they hadn't, even if the lines were long, and shared an adage from an unknown source.

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you," she quoted.

Check back later Wednesday for information about how Vestavia voted.