An unprecedented surge in early voters has Pima County election officials predicting a record-breaking 85 percent turnout in today's election. Beginning at 6 a.m., more than a quarter-million voters are expected to start making their way to the county's 375 polling places. The result, officials say, could be long lines, beleaguered poll workers and maybe even candidates who go to bed tonight unsure if they've won or lost. By the time the polls close at 7 p.m., as many as 380,000 county residents - more than a third of the entire county population - are expected to have cast ballots. "Our citizens care about democracy," said Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez. Just how much they care was evident Monday outside of Rodriguez's office in the Old County Courthouse, where for most of the day a long line of voters braved a cold, piercing wind for the last chance to vote early. In a scene that caught Rodriguez and her staff by surprise, a steady stream of voters waited patiently for more than an hour to vote. About 50 voters were in line at noon. By 5 p.m., their ranks had swelled to close to 100. Some were like 20-year-old Santiago Moreno. The call center worker had the day off and didn't want to waste it, so he came Downtown to get a haircut and vote against President Bush. "I never thought there would be a line," he said. "But I think it's important. I really don't want Bush anymore. When Clinton was in office everything was fine. Another Democrat needs to be in office." Others were like Juan Francisco Pedro, a 23-year-old insurance salesman who with a colleague voted during a break from work. "On Iraq, the economy, immigration, moral values I agree with George Bush," he said. Still others were like Ron Amistadi. The 59-year-old music teacher just wanted to drop off an early ballot that he never got around to mailing. "I was supposed to do this last week," he said. At about midday, Rodriguez said her office had processed about 120,000 of the 172,000 early ballots that county voters began requesting as long as three months ago. The office had also processed more than 16,000 ballots that had been cast at early voting sites. One of the busiest early voting sites was the newest one at the University of Arizona. Over five days last week, an estimated 2,200 voters - the vast majority of them students - cast ballots. "We should all be proud of those kids," said Rodriguez. "They're all taking this very, very seriously." While early voting officially ended Friday, three days of "emergency voting" began at the Recorder's Office on Saturday. Over the weekend, 1,400 ballots were cast. A final tally for Monday was not available. Among those voting Monday was 28-year-old Alex Tapia, a sandwich maker and Pima Community College student who was anxious to do his civic duty. "This is the first time I'm voting, ever," said Tapia. "I'm excited."