Thinking she would get ahead of the crowd, Carolyn Gwaltney showed up at the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department to vote at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Apparently everyone had the same idea, at voting precincts across the city and the country.

Gwaltney said cars packed the Chuckatuck fire station parking lot, then overflowed into an adjacent field and down a nearby side street. By the time the polls opened, the line of voters in Chuckatuck snaked around the building.

“It looked like the fish fry,” she said, comparing early morning voter turnout to the wave of people who converge on the fire department’s fish fry fundraisers each year.

“I turned around and went back home.”

Beth Haywood of Chuckatuck did the same thing. When she went back the second time, around 8:30 a.m., she waited for about 45 minutes to cast her ballot.

“The line was much shorter when I went back,” she said. “I think people are getting out to vote because they are upset about the economy and passionate in their beliefs.

“This is a historical election and everybody wants to be a part of it.”

Record voter turnout is being reported across the commonwealth, according to the State Board of Elections. Although the board reported voting problems in other parts of the state, Suffolk hasn’t had any major issues, said the voter registrar.

“Everything’s good,” said Sharon Thornhill, the general registrar.

The line of voters was much longer at some of the other polling sites in Suffolk.

Linda Bundy arrived at her precinct – King’s Fork Middle School – at 5:10 a.m., thinking she would be among the first to vote when the polls opened at 6 a.m. The Suffolk News-Herald employee said approximately 50 people were in front of her in line. It was around 7 a.m. before she voted.

Carol Johanningsmeier, first vice chair of the Suffolk Democratic Committee, arrived at the King’s Fork precinct to vote around 8:05 a.m. While she was expecting a wait, she was still surprised when it took her 3 ½ hours to vote.

“I’m glad for the turnout,” she said. People were patient, many sitting in portable chairs that they moved as the line advanced.

Neither the long wait, nor the threat of rain, deterred voters at her precinct, Johanningsmeier said, adding she didn’t see people leaving without voting.

Loraine Godwin said she waited for an hour at the Nansemond River High School to vote.