At Precinct 39 in District 3, 58 people had voted by noon. Across town at Precinct 14 on Hawthorne Lane, 108 people had voted.

The numbers from the two precincts Creative Loafing visited in District 5 this morning weren't available after 12 p.m., but we'll bring updates as soon as we get them.

Inside all the precincts, election workers outnumbered voters this afternoon. Which raises the question: When all the numbers are in, will Charlotte see the low turnout we reported in the cover story of our print edition this week?

The citywide mayoral election of 2009 attracted only 21 percent of voters. Mecklenburg County Board of Elections head Michael Dickerson told CL last week that he expects 20- to 25-percent voter participation today. However, if the early voting results are an indication of participation, that total might be lower than he predicted. According to the Board of Elections, 18,157 votes were cast during the early voting period between Oct. 27 and Nov. 5. The board reported a total of 24,338 votes in 2009.