CHARLOTTE -- Early voting began in North Carolina on Thursday. Elections officials are urging voters to get out early if they can because they expect large—if not record—crowds for the May 6 primary.

Plenty of citizens across the Tar Heel State did just that Thursday morning when the polls opened at 8 a.m.

“I arrived a little bit after 7:45 a.m., and there was already people standing in line. That's great, you know, that's what democracy is about is voting,” early Fayetteville voter George Breece said, and officials at the Cumberland County Board of Elections said they had 183 voters in the first two hours. They weren’t alone either. Turnout was up across the state.

"We're expecting at least 20 percent of the people that vote will vote early,” added John Whitley, director of the Union County Board of Elections. Officials in Guilford County said 75 people turned out to vote at the old courthouse, and Mecklenburg County had 41 voters in the first two hours.

The Democratic presidential primary is driving most voters to the polls. The powerful and very tight contest between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has caused large turnout in states across the country and has made North Carolina’s primary an important step on the way to the presidency.

That means the May 6 primary in the Tar Heel State could be one of the busiest ever, and that fact drove me of the early voters.

"When you come down early, usually you go in and out. Especially if you work or you have things to do, you can get in and out early,” said Fayetteville voter Alice Price.

Others simply voted now so they wouldn’t have to send in an absentee ballot later.

"I'm going to be overseas, so I decided to come out and vote early, get my ballot in and let everybody know, 'Hey, I'm going to do my thing even though I'm not going to be here,’” added Fayetteville voter Jerry Lock.

Few problems expected with multiple ballots

Even some 17-year-olds can vote in the important primary election.

“A 17-year-old is allowed to vote as long as they'll be 18 years old on or before November 4th,” Whitley explained. “They are allowed to vote in this primary election because the primary is an extension of the general election in the fall."

Things like 17-year-olds voting can contribute to the chaos, as those young voters will cast their votes on a separate, special ballot, one of 12 different ballots for Union County alone in this election.

For example, in Indian Trail, voters are being asked to consider liquor by the drink sales, but 17-year-olds aren’t allowed to vote on that alcohol referendum.

"It's just a matter of printing different ballots for the 17-year-olds,” Whitley said.

Union County isn’t alone; Landis and Kannapolis in Rowan County must print different ballots for an alcohol referendum and school board elections, respectively. In Iredell County, Troutman and Davidson voters will be asked to consider a mixed beverage referendum. And Guilford County is looking at a slew of bonds, none of which 17-year-olds can vote on.

Elections officials in Union County said this is not the first time they have dealt with the issue and it won’t be the last, but they don’t foresee any problems with the different ballots.

Seventeen-year-olds definitely won’t be the only ones voting in this election. New registration numbers showed that nearly 150,000 new voters have signed up to vote since Jan. 1. In Mecklenburg County alone, more than 18,000 new voters are registered to vote. That’s more than double the number of new voters during the 2004 primary.

The large turnout could also affect statewide and local races as well as bond referendums.

If you missed your registration time, you can still do one-stop voting where you register and vote all in one step.

On April 28, more voting spots will open up, and then your last chance to vote is on May 6 during the North Carolina primary.