Nearly 900 voters went to the polls at three early voting sites in Orange County. Traffic was heaviest at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in downtown Chapel Hill, where 650 people — many of them students — climbed a spiral staircase to the second-floor voting area.

“We were prepared for a good turnout, and I think we did pretty good for the first day,” said Tracy Reams, director of the Orange County Board of Elections.

Nearly 400 people had voted by about 4:15 p.m. — 45 minutes before the polls closed — in downtown Raleigh, where the Wake elections board opened its first one-stop voting site for the May 6 primary. At one-stop voting sites, new voters can register and vote in a single visit.

"More and more people like the convenience of one-stop voting," said Wake Elections Director Cherie Poucher. "So we had anticipated that not only this site but when other sites open, we will have a lot of traffic."

Wake elections officials were still dealing with last week's rush of voter registrations and changes to registrations. County election workers were continuing to process many of the 20,000 voter applications and registration changes that came in last week.

Andrew Tate, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, wanted to get voting out of the way before finals. He said he was excited to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton.

"I think she has some awesome ideas about where to take us," Tate said.

Rebekka Veith, a sophomore from Louisiana, tried to vote but was turned away because her registration had not yet been processed. Veith said she turned it in last week.

She could have re-registered today if she had brought proof of her campus address.

"I really want to vote for Barak Obama," she said. "I'm really excited about the way he's been engaging people my age."

About a dozen students were hanging out at the UNC for Obama campaign tables, where supporters gave out cookies and blue balloons on which they wrote slogans such as "Voting Is Sexy" and "Voting Is Kind of A Big Deal."

Brian Murphy a sophomore from Hickory, was helping with the balloons. He campaigned for President Bush four years ago when he was 16.

"It's even more fun on a campus," Murphy said. "I guess because people are more involved. Even people who don't agree with you are more accepting of what you believe."

Turnout was slow at a voting site at N.C. Central University in Durham. But interest in this year's races appears high; at least 7,360 people registered to vote in the past month.

"Registration has been unbelievable the last couple weeks," said Michael Perry, deputy director of Durham's Board of Elections. "We're glad something has motivated the people to come out."

At a midday rally on the NCCU campus, about 200 people led by the university marching band walked around campus, ending up at the voting site.

Several local candidates took part, including Mitchell Garrell, who is running for district attorney, and Joe Bowser, Victoria Peterson and Don Moffitt, all of whom are seeking seats on the Durham Board of Commissioners.

Several students said they were drawn to the polls by the Democratic presidential primary.

"I think it's getting a lot of people's attention," said sophomore Joseph Miller. "Even people who don't really care about voting, they're talking about it."

For a list of one-stop voting sites in the state, go to www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=17.

New registrants must provide proof of identification.