A dozen people decided to vote early for Lawrence City Commission and school board candidates on Wednesday, as advance voting began for the Feb. 25 primaries.

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“I think it’s pretty in line with other first-day advance voting for a primary — maybe a little better,” said Douglas County Clerk Patty Jaimes, the county’s chief elections officer.

Thirteen candidates vie for four seats on the school board. The top eight vote-getters in the primary will appear on the April 1 general election ballot.

The Lawrence City Commission race features 11 candidates seeking three seats on the five-member commission. The top six vote-getters in the primary will appear on the April 1 ballot.

To vote early you must first be registered, which can be done at the County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse, 1100 Mass. To vote, you must fill out an application for an advance ballot. Then a clerk will provide a ballot. A voting booth for marking ballots is on the courthouse’s main floor.

You also can visit www.ljworld.com to download an application, which you can submit by mail to the courthouse and receive a ballot.

Advance voting is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cutoff is noon Feb. 24.

Completed advance ballots may be received up until the polls close at 7 p.m. Election Day, Feb. 25, when they will be counted with the other ballots.

Tom Bracciano, Lawrence, doesn't have to worry about voting Feb. 25. He cast his ballot in the Lawrence City Commission and Lawrence school board primaries Wednesday during advance voting at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Advance ballot applications can be mailed to those who cannot make it to the courthouse, Jaimes said.

Though only 12 people had cast ballots at the courthouse by 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jaimes said she had mailed out 696 ballots to residents who wanted to vote in advance by mail.

That’s more than the 672 people who voted by advance ballot in the 2001 city/school primary, she said.

Ballots mailed Wednesday included those sent to 273 voters in Precincts 47 and 49, on the western edge of Lawrence.

Those precincts do not have enough voters to warrant the cost of setting up a polling place on Election Day, Jaimes said.

Other advance voting ballots were mailed to people with disabilities who are on a permanent list, she said.

Advance voting is open to all registered voters. Voter registration closes for the primary election at 5 p.m. Monday.

To be counted, completed advance voting ballots must be received at the County Clerk’s Office by 7 p.m. Feb. 24.