As of Tuesday, over 170,000 citizens of Shelby County had cast their ballots and voted early.

"Just didn't want to be on the day of the election trying to come out and vote. I wanted to do it early," one voter said.

Another voter said that long lines on election day made him want to go ahead and cast his ballot.

Early voting has risen in popularity, so much so that 100,000 more voters in Shelby County are expected to participate rather than vote on election day.

It is convenient for the voters. We like the fact that it reduces the amount of wait time you have at your polling site on election day. So I think it is wise for voters to take advantage of early voting," Richard Holden of the election commission said.

Tuesday at the AgriCenter early voters said that their wait time was taking less that 45 minutes. Some said they got in and out in as little as 20 minutes.

"Whether you vote early or whether you vote on election day has absolutely no bearing on the results and tabulation. All the votes are being treated the same. They are kept secret and they are counted accurately," Holden said.