LINCOLN, NEB. ? It seems like everybody wants to give input on the design of Nebraska’s quarter.

Votes were cast at a rate of more than 575 an hour in the first seven hours the 25 designs were placed on the secretary of state’s Web page Friday.

The designs were put up at 9:05 a.m. and by 4:05 p.m., there had been 4,034 votes, said Sharon Hambek with the Secretary of State’s Office.

The first vote was cast for design No. 10, which has a corn stalk on the left, Chimney Rock in the middle and a sandhill crane on the right with the Nebraska outline in the middle.

All 25 designs had at least one vote in the first seven hours, Hambek said. She would not say which one was leading in the opening hours.

The voting will continue until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 1. While the vote is nonbinding, members of the official quarter design committee will use the results as guidance as they narrow the field to the final five.

The committee has meetings scheduled for Sept. 2 and Sept. 22 to select the finalists, which are then sent to the U.S. Mint. Once the Mint sends back its official renderings, Gov. Mike Johanns will be given the task of choosing the winner.

The vote is open to anyone of any age, but the Web page requests that only Nebraska residents make a choice. Also, votes can be cast for more than one design, but it is asked that only one vote be cast for each person’s favorite.

Nebraska’s commemorative quarter will be released in late March or early April 2006. An unveiling ceremony at the state Capitol is being planned for sometime around the release date.

Familiar Nebraska icons are highlighted in many of the finalists, including Chimney Rock, the Capitol and the Sower, homesteaders, Chief Standing Bear, Arbor Day, Boys Town, U.S. Strategic Command, Buffalo Bill, agriculture, the Meadowlark, goldenrod, sandhill crane, corn and the North Platte canteen.