Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew reported relatively strong voter turnout in the opening hours of Election Day.

As of 10:30 a.m., at least 4,881 ballots had been cast, including advance ballots, or about 45 percent of the total number of votes cast in municipal elections two years ago.

The mid-morning report did not include votes cast at the Burge Union, Holcom Recreation Center or Vinland United Methodist Church, three polling places Shew said he had not been able to contact by 10:30 a.m.

Within Lawrence, the most votes reported so far were from polling places in west Lawrence, including Langston Hughes School, First Southern Baptist Church and Deerfield School.

In eastern Lawrence, Prairie Park School and Liberty Memorial Central Middle School both reported turnout of more than half their 2011 totals.

Voters in Douglas County are deciding races for city commission and school board seats. Voters in the Lawrence school district are also deciding on a proposed $92.5 million bond issue.