Apparently, people handle early voting like everything else - by procrastinating.
Tuesday was the last day for early voting in Tennessee and, as usual, a flood of voters swept into polling stations just in time to vote for their presidential pick in the Republican and Democratic Tennessee primaries, officials said.
Hamilton County Administrator of Elections Kerry Steelman said the day was busy since lines stretched out doors and into parking lots.
Aided by his sister, Madelyn Paschel, Marion Paschel head to the table to pick up his ballot at the Brainerd Recreation Center on the last day of early voting in Hamilton County on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. 
Signs on the door at the Brainerd Recreation Center lead voters to the polling place on the last day of early voting in Hamilton County on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. "As of 4 p.m. today, with two more hours of voting left, 16,619 Hamilton County voters have cast an early ballot," Steelman said.
Three-quarters of those votes came in the last six days, and while the total number of voters exceeds that in both 2008 and 2012, the percentage of registered voters who participated early will be slightly below 2008, he said.
Polling stations in neighboring counties reported a similar trend, saying early voter turnout was lower than expected, sometimes by a large degree.
Marion County Administrator of Elections Gary Reames said, "I'm not sure what's going on, but we are way lower than usual."
Though the numbers aren't final, this year Reames fully expects there to be a 30-40 percent decrease in voter turnout from the last election.
His counterpart in Bradley County, Fran Green, said turnout also has been slightly lower there, but a spike in participation over the last handful of days bumped her county's numbers to just under 6,000.
She said early voter turnout is typically a good indicator of expected numbers for the actual primary scheduled for March 1, and in Bradley County about 50 percent of the votes are cast early.
"Now I'm looking at 6,000 on election day," Green said.
The early voting process brings in a wide range of voters, some of whom have been participating religiously for decades. After casting her ballot in Brainerd, Gladys Gordon proudly said she has voted in every election since 1962.
She said she doesn't consider herself tied to a particular party, but this year the most pressing issue for her is national security.
"People are coming over and doing harm to the United States," she said. "I want to live in a country that's safe."
First-time early voter Stacy Helton has a different set of priorities, and he said he's voting for Hillary Clinton because of her stances on cultural issues.
But Helton has followed both sides of the race for months, relishing each debate and TV appearance because he thinks this race has been so entertaining.
"It's a circus," he said. "It's amazing."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.