By MELISSA PEACOCK

LAPLACE – LaPlace Elementary School students generally believe the school’s library is about average in size.

To registered St. John the Baptist Parish residents casting votes Tuesday for the U.S. Senate and House, local positions and 12 amendments to the state constitution, it was just barely large enough to turn around in.

Normally, voters in the precinct cast their ballots in the school’s cafeteria. This year make-up days from Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili kept students in session and voters in a more confined part of the campus.

While voter after voter complained about the cramped quarters, poll worker Fran Goodrum said she did not believe that location would make a significant difference to voters casting ballots in the precinct.

“We have already had more (voters) than we usually get,” Goodrum said. “This is a small precinct.”

At 8 a.m. Tuesday a line of rained upon voters was already formed inside the LES library. Outside, drops of water bounced off the brightly colored umbrellas of uncomfortable voters.

Was venturing out to the ballot boxes worth battling the rain? Voters casting ballots at the school agree that, with a close Senate race and bad weather, it was more important than ever to stop at the polls.

“Yes, there may be a race for the Senate,” said Fred Gregorie, a customer service representative with public transportation. “That was part of the reason I came out. The rain was part of the reason I came out, too.”

Gregorie, a supporter of Senate incumbent Mary Landrieu, said he expected a runoff between Landrieu and one of the other Senate candidates.

“She is a democrat,” Gregorie explained when asked why he was voting for Landrieu. “I am looking for a candidate with some of the same views I have. It is choosing the lesser of the two evils.”

While a number of voters were at the polls during the morning, Gregorie did not believe the crowd was as large as it has been in previous elections. The precinct normally has one of the largest voter turnouts in the parish.

“I hear a lot of people complain about the way things are run,” Gregorie said. “They need to be willing to go out and do something about it.”

Fellow voter Lynn Terrebonne, a lawyer, agreed.

“People should vote in every election no matter how bad the weather is,” Terrebonne said.

Terrebonne supported the Republicans at the polls Tuesday. While Terrebonne said some of the races were too close to predict a winner, she believed the rain could benefit one political party.

“It is going to benefit the Republicans,” Terrebonne said. “I think there is going to be a runoff in this election.”

It took poll workers about 30 minutes to set up their stations. Polls opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m.

“Turnout will probably be less because of the rain, although we have been pretty busy,” said poll worker Ken Theard, LaPlace. “We have been busier than expected.”

There were 209 absentee ballots cast by St. John the Baptist Parish voters. St. John Parish Registrar of Voters Betty Madere predicted that about 35 percent of registered voters would turn out Tuesday for elections. That is just slightly higher than the 28 percent that turned out for the District Attorney race earlier this year.

“Our local elections we usually have about 70 percent turnout,” Madere said. “If 35 percent do turn out that will be a good turnout for this election, especially on a weekday.”

Madere said it would be hard to compare voter turnout at this election to voter turnout in previous elections. There is no “normal” election to compare it to.

The last Senate race was the same year as the presidential election, Madere said. This election the parish had no big local races. School Board members are still waiting for preclearance of a redistricting plan and are also fighting a lawsuit in court.