KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Thousands took advantage of early in-person voting at four locations across Kalamazoo County during the nine-day period ahead of the election.

Some voters told News 8 that the new window of time has made getting involved with the electoral process easier.

The final weekend of early voting started early near the Western Michigan University campus. Thredz organizers filled the Wesley Foundation of Kalamazoo building with pre-drawn canvases to encourage young people to paint and go to the polls.

“The goal is to really increase all the energy around early voting, and to get people, especially young voters, out and engaged in the process of voting,” said Marria McIntosh, the CEO of the Muskegon-based youth group.

She said her team had already visited cities like Detroit and Flint to engage with residents and encourage voter participation.

At the Fetzer Center at WMU, the participation was already in full swing. By 11:45 a.m. Saturday, an election official said more than 4,200 people had voted at the site since the early voting period began.

A short drive from the center, the Douglass Community Association had a steady stream of voters. By 12:30 p.m. Saturday, more than 2,470 people had visited the polling location, according to a site supervisor.

The Portage Parks and Recreation Department has been an especially busy location, with a site supervisor saying more than more than 7,300 voters had stopped there by about 1:50 p.m. Saturday.

While the wait in line hovered around 30 minutes, voters like Alexis Buyce said it was easier compared to the expected rush that waiting until Tuesday would bring.

“I usually don’t get home until 5:30 or shortly after. So it is what it is, so you get there, no matter how long the line is, you really just had the one option,” Buyce said. “So the flexibility of being able to do it at a different time and at a different location really made it easier.”

The early polling location at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center reported a total of more than 5,300 people by 3 p.m.

Sarah Jones said she waited around 10 minutes to cast her ballot.

“I thought it went really really smoothly,  It was pretty straightforward. You were in and out,” she said. “Once you got in there, everything was rolling.”

Eligible voters still have a chance to cast their ballot early Sunday, with polls in Kalamazoo County open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Details about early voting in Kalamazoo can be found here.