9 p.m.: Valley residents flocked to the polls Tuesday, often standing in long, steady lines to cast their votes.

"The line all day has been crazy," Fresno County Clerk Brandi Orth said of the voters who stretched for blocks outside the downtown elections office.

But by the times the polls closed, there were only a few voters in line, so the counting of the ballots was not delayed, Orth said.

At Chandler Airport in west Fresno, election worker Maria Contreras, who has worked eight elections, said there also was a steady stream of voters, but not as many as in November 2008, when President Barack Obama won his first term.

"It's nothing like that," she said. "It seemed like there was more excitement back then."

Richard Molina, 61, said he voted for President Obama four years ago and did it again Tuesday evening. "It hasn't been easy for him with the economy in a mess and no jobs," Molina said. "I just hope he does better these next four years."

The election brought many senior citizens to the polls, said election worker Lorraine Diaz at the Fellowship Baptist Church on Belmont Avenue in southeast Fresno.

"I guess they are tired of the cuts," she said.

Diaz said one particular voter stood out -- an old military veteran who used a walker and relied on his son to get to the voting booth. "Seeing him was pretty inspirational," Diaz said.

Mateo Soto said he came to the polls to vote against Proposition 30, which would raise the state sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years and income taxes on those making more than $250,000 annually for seven years.

"I'm all for education, but there's not plan to make sure all the funds go to education," he said.

He said Fresno Unified School District has a high dropout rate, yet teachers don't want to be held accountable for low test scores. "Why should I vote for them?" he said. "I would get fired if I didn't produce."

8:10 p.m.: Two polling places in Clovis reported high voter turnout early Tuesday evening.

At the Clovis Evangelical Free Church, more than 60% of registered voters had cast their ballots by early evening, said Greg Holden, a Fresno County election inspector.

"I've been working here 12 years and I've never seen it better," he said of the turnout.

Holden said 560 voters had cast their ballots out of 890 register voters at the church by 6:30 p.m.

At Clovis Veteran Memorial District building, election inspector Stan Dilbeck said about 70% of registers voters had cast their ballots by 7 p.m.

Dilbeck, who has been a inspector for about 15 years, said the turnout was typical for presidential election.

Voters had various reason for voicing their opinions at the polls.

Increasing taxes concerned Tran and Julie Sanders, who voted at Evangelical Free Church.

"A quarter-cent doesn't seem like a lot, but we never seem to get that back," said Tran Sanders, a small-business owner.

"I think (politicians) need to be more responsible at the state level."

Julie Sanders said, "We're expected to balance our checkbooks, they should be expected to balance theirs."

The couple said they did support Measure B, an initiative to fund public libraries.

They see the benefits of local taxes, which isn't always the case with state and federal tax increases, they said.

Greg Mercado said he supported Proposition 30 to help schools.

"I have a daughter going to college and tuition keeps going up and up and up," he said. "It's crazy."

He also voted for Proposition 32 because "you have unions that buy politicians, and I don't think that's right."