THUNDER BAY -- Almost twice as many citizens cast early federal election ballots over the Thanksgiving weekend than voted early in the 2011 election.
More than 9,000 citizens in the north side riding cast their votes early, leading to waiting times of nearly two hours on Friday at some polls.
Lineups persisted at the 55-Plus Centre polling station as hour-long delays continued through Saturday.
"I was thinking it's something like Boxing Day," returning officer Bill Everitt said on Saturday.
"Everybody plans to go first thing in the morning and they go and there's a big lineup."
Once the election is over and analysis is being conducted on how to make Elections Canada more effective, Everitt said, his office will likely suggest more polling stations will be necessary for advance voting in the future.
Final tallies in the Thunder Bay-Rainy River Riding are expected late on Tuesday but the riding's returning officer Tom McCuaig suspects early voter turnout increased 50 per cent from 2011.
The returning office saw the flood of voters coming when polls opened on Friday at noon and McCuaig did his best to adapt.
"We had anticipated that some polls were expected to be heavy in turnout and we added people to those polls immediately," he said.
"Shortly after the vent started on Friday, we added two more poll workers to two more polls."
McCuaig added lineups surged again on the holiday Monday as voters took advantage of the last opportunity to vote before Election Day.
Both offices have extra staff available on Oct. 19 to distribute among busier poll stations but McCuaig appealed to voters to understand some waiting time should be expected.
