A week before the election, early voter turnout is strong in North Central Florida.

More than 27,000 votes have been tallied at the three early voting sites in Alachua County so far.

The number of early votes at the downtown location surpassed 500.

Long lines outside have been the norm... but once inside voters say the process speeds up.

"It was real quick. There was a bunch of people at the tables. Everything just kept moving and moving. There were multiple voting places so it was real nice and quick."

This afternoon... Governor Charlie Crist issued an executive order to extend early voting hours.

The polls are open from 7:00am to 7:00pm now thru Friday... and election offices will be open a total of 12 hours combined on Saturday and Sunday