“I told every one of these girls, ‘Bring knitting, bring books, because you’re not going to have anything to do,'” she said.

The knitting had to wait. Calumet Township’s Precinct 2, like others in the Copper Country, reported steady turnout Tuesday, with both absentee and in-person numbers eclipsing those of 2016.

About 1,500 people cast absentee votes across all four precincts in Calumet Township, Salmela said, up from 690 in 2016. By about 5 p.m., 499 people had voted in-person at the precinct. While Salmela didn’t have 2016 numbers offhand, she said unlike that election, which had big spikes in the morning and around noon, people had been coming in all day. A big part of the turnout was from same-day registration, which was not allowed yet in 2016.

“We’re beating all records, for sure,” Salmela said.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Voters line up at Precinct 1 in Hancock a half-hour after polls opened. Voters came in at a rate of one per minute during the first hour, poll workers said, an indicator of the strong turnout seen in the Copper Country.

A line of prospective voters spilled into the lobby at Houghton’s City Hall, some after being redirected from other polling places.

“I didn’t have enough time to get registered to do absentee,” said Hailey Mikolitis. “Plus, it’s in person and I know exactly what’s going to happen with my vote.”

Mikolitis said she’s voted as long as she’s been able to.

“I can at least say I did the best I could to get the person I want into office,” she said.

At Hancock’s Precinct 1 at city hall, voters averaged about one a minute for the first hour, poll workers said.

Julie Haataja was one of a group of voters waiting in line at city hall around 7:30 a.m. She sees it as a civic duty to vote.

“I think we need to keep our country great … I feel like, depending on which candidate becomes president, it’s going to make a big difference in our country,” she said.

Ron Winnie of Calumet Township hadn’t voted since the first presidential election after he turned 18. That one was “just because I could.” Now 61, he was motivated to vote against President Donald Trump because of his handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

“I think he’s taking it way too lightly,” he said. “People are dying. We can’t have that. They’re dying before their time.”

Not that he was thrilled with Joe Biden. Winnie said his approach was “let somebody else screw up.”

Hancock’s Precinct 1 had about 150 in-person voters by 3:40, which the poll workers said was busier than usual. From that precinct, 367 mail ballots had been sent out, most of which had been returned.

At Houghton’s Precinct 2, there had been 394 in-person voters as of 4 p.m. Counting absentee ballots, they were at 1,153. The precinct had already passed 2016’s total vote by 1:30 p.m., said poll worker Denise Brisebois.

“It’s been very steady, and very calm,” she said. “Very nice.”

Poll workers in Houghton and Hancock reported no disturbances. In Calumet Township, one person wore a political hat into the precinct, which he then folded to obscure the logo, Salmela said. Another person drove past the precinct repeatedly with Trump flags on his vehicle.

“Just because he knew it was irritating,” Salmela said. “I finally just closed my window and he stopped.”