The polls have officially closed as of 8 p.m.

Updated 7:50 p.m.

Ames Public Library saw a better-than-expected turnout of eligible voters Tuesday, according to election officials.

Kelli Hitsman, the precinct chairman, said the projected voter turnout was between 5 and 7 percent, but by 7 p.m. her polling place had seen 10 percent of eligible voters in their precinct.

Hitsman, who’s been an election official for five years, said voter traffic was consistent throughout the day. She said she saw voters ranging from “students to people with kids and baby buggies to older people with walkers and canes.”

Evan Campbell, a Wheatsfield employee and former ISU student, was one of the voters at the library Tuesday night.

Campbell said it was his first time voting in any election. He said he knew one of the city council candidates personally and that helped inspire him to perform his civic duty.

“[It’s important] knowing about where you live, caring about where you live and caring about it being better for you,” Campbell said.

Susan Jasper, the outreach and education coordinator at Wheatsfield, was also at the library. Although Jasper had already voted, she was traveling to several polling places as a poll-watcher for the Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen campaign.

The Ames Public Library was Jasper’s fifth stop.

Jasper said her job as a poll-watcher was to compare lists of people who had already voted with a list of people who had expressed support for Beatty-Hansen throughout the campaign. If potential voters were not on the lists of people who had already voted, she said she would call them and remind them to vote.

“We can’t see who they voted for, just whether or not they voted,” Jasper said.

She said people might forget that it’s Election Day, so it’s her job to give them a friendly reminder to get to the polls. She said that poll-watchers had urged voters to mail in absentee ballots if there was a chance that they would be unable to make it to a polling place.

Updated 7:30 p.m.

7,718 residents in Ames have voted in Tuesday’s city election, according to a tally of votes by the County auditor. With 39,579 registered voters, that puts turnout at about 19.5 percent as of 7 p.m.

Once again, the campus voting locations saw the lowest turnouts, with only nine people voting throughout the day at Maple Hall. Nine people voting puts voter turnout at Maple Hall at just over 0.5 percent.

28 people voted at UDCC, which is about 2.5 percent turnout.

Polls are set to close at 8 p.m.

Updated 4:00 p.m.

As of 3:00 p.m., over 3,500 people have voted in Ames, according to a tally of votes by the Story County Auditor.

The campus voting locations have seen the least amount of voters. Only three people total have voted today at Maple Hall, while nine have voted at UDCC.

Carolyn Klaus, a UDCC poll worker, described the turnout as “terrible,” but said ISU President Steven Leath and his wife were two of the voters during the day.

“The closer your government is to you, the more it affects students,” Klaus said. “What students don’t understand is that their vote could elect someone.”

Several students that did vote said even though it was a City election that did not receive much attention, it was still important.

“It’s important to vote for people that will make a difference in the city, because most students are going to be living here for four to five years, and you’re going to see the changes that happen,” said Daniel Niedfeldt-Thomas, a sophomore in aerospace engineering.

Samantha Ege, a sophomore in psychology, said students should want to be involved in the Ames community.

“It’s important because you need to know what’s going on, in order to contribute back to society,” Ege said.

Updated 2:00 p.m.

Election day for the Ames City Council took place on Tuesday, November 3. 

As of 1:09 only 16 people came to the Memorial Lutheran Church to cast their vote. 

Volunteers worked the event for several reasons, one including raising money for their club.

Members of the Ames Golden K Kiwanis Club, Dennis Keeney and Larry Vallery, volunteered their time to raise money for the Kiwanis. 

“I’ve always wanted to do this, but I’ve never got around to it,” Keeney said.

Keeney and Vallery get $10 an hour for their time.

Other volunteers helped because they were approached about volunteering, like Peggy Kohler.

Kohler helped hand out ballots and take registration and said the day has been “pretty slow.” 

Kohler has seen mostly students, fraternity and sorority members come in to vote. The volunteers have had to turn several people away because the students didn’t have correct identifiers, such as a lease, bill, etc., to vouch they were members of the Ames community.

A way around this is to bring in two Ames community members that would attest that you are a member of Ames.

Kohler has helped with same-day registration today as well. 

Updated 12:25 p.m.

Over 1,000 Ames residents voted for Ames City Council members as of 11:30 Tuesday, according to a vote count by the Story County Auditor.

A total of 1,337 votes were cast in Ames, making up the majority of the 1,940 votes cast throughout other Story County polling locations. 

Updated 11:25 a.m.

Collegiate United Methodist Church hosted voters and volunteers for the Ames city council elections Tuesday.

“Who’s on city council has everything to do with where this city goes,” said Sharon Stewart, resident of Ames. “I think that being educated and knowing who’s running and supporting the people that you believe in and what they’re behind can make really make a difference. Local government is a huge deal in how this city develops and grows.”

Robert Sperry, a volunteer, said only four voters had turned out by 10 a.m. Last year, only 66 voters had appeared for that precinct, and it wouldn’t likely get busy until after the work day had concluded.

Carlton Peterson, another volunteer, said that the small number of voters could be because many voters were confused about where their precinct was.

“Many voters are confusing this poll with the school board elections and they’re not going to their specific precinct,” he said.

However, volunteers and voters said that voting was something all people should take part in.

“I think personally local elections are the most important, they’re more impactful and you’re familiar with the issues,” Jeff Harrington, an Ames resident said. “It gives you a sense of not only participation but kind of a self-satisfaction. There’s something about it that makes you feel like you were a part of something.”

Sperry added that government is by the people and for the people.

“It’s kind of the way governments supposed to be,” he said.