By Japhet Weeks/OAKLAND

Voters who went to the Alameda County registrar’s office yesterday to avoid what is expected to be a very crowded day at the polls next Tuesday found out that this year even early voters have to wait in line.

Still, avoiding long lines wasn’t the only reason scores of voters from all over the county traveled to downtown Oakland on a rainy Thursday afternoon, making their way through the county courthouse’s metal detector and descending into a windowless basement lined with American flags and makeshift voting booths. There was something else in the air — a sense of excitement like an electric charge. The source: Barack Obama.

Early voting, which began October 6, is more popular this year than it was four years ago, according to the registrar’s office. And the number of registered voters is up too. There are 61,423 more voters than there were in Nov. 2004. During that election, 28 percent of Alameda County voters voted absentee or early. This year, the registrar’s office predicts that 35 percent of the 803,681 will vote early.

City employees at the registrar’s office waved small American flags from their windows to get the attention of the next early voter in line. Some came to cast their votes five days before election day with their entire family in tow. Babies cried. One boy with a bright red “I voted!” sticker on his forehead came to vote with his mom. “Barack Obama’s tight!” he said, grinning.

There were African Americans, Asians, Latinos. Husbands and wives. Old and young voters alike.

One Oakland couple brought a video camera to record the historic moment for their children. Some people — wary of putting this year’s precious ballot in the mail — said they wanted to be sure their vote was counted and their voice heard.

West Oakland resident Anthony Hall, who voted for Senator Barack Obama on Thursday, said he doesn’t usually vote early, but this year he was nervous that something might go wrong on election day that would prevent him from making it to the polls. Hall said he even completed a sample ballot first, which was unusual for him, in order to make sure he’d filled out everything correctly.

Many of the West Berkeley and West Oakland residents who voted early said they hadn’t done so in the 2004 presidential election. Some hadn’t even voted. The general consensus was that there was more at stake this time.

Early voting will continue through Monday Nov. 3 at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, 1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, Oakland.

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