ATLANTA --- Hundreds of people in one suburban Atlanta county lined up under sunny skies Saturday to cast a ballot on the final day of advance voting.

Coweta County, about 35 miles southwest of Atlanta, received federal approval to hold Saturday voting in 1986. Polls were open from 9 a.m. to noon at the county administration building in downtown Newnan. Voters in line by noon were allowed to cast a ballot.

By mid-morning, 200 people were in line, said chief registrar Joan Hamilton, who estimated that 27 percent of the county's more than 74,000 registered voters have cast ballots since early voting began Sept. 22. The longest wait times during the past week have averaged two to three hours.

"We've had long lines, but no problems other then when the state computer system has been down," Ms. Hamilton said. "Voters have been very cooperative, happy. Everybody is laughing and talking. People hold people's place in line while they go get coffee and food and come back."

The voting experience hasn't been as pleasant in other parts of the state, where advance voting ended Friday.

The Georgia secretary of state's office said Saturday that 1,994,990 people, or about 35 percent of the state's 5.6 million registered voters, have cast votes. That's 10 percent more than Secretary of State Karen Handel predicted before the polls opened for early voting.

The turnout has caused long lines, with some voters standing in line until late at night. On Friday, Democrats called on state officials to keep polling places open through Election Day to accommodate crowds. U.S. Rep. John Lewis was among them.

The Clayton County election board requested such an extension Friday afternoon but withdrew the request a few hours later, citing exhausted poll workers.

A spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue said any changes to voting procedures would require prior federal approval.

Deputy Secretary of State Rob Simms said state law prohibits voters from casting ballots the day before Election Day.

Law enforcement agencies around Georgia, like agencies across the country, are preparing for huge crowds celebrating the historic election or possible disturbances. Most agencies are not offering details.

Atlanta Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa Keyes said officers will not post officers at polling places, but they will be stationed nearby to help with pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

Augusta authorities don't expect any civil unrest but said they want to be as prepared as they are for any election.

Richmond County sheriff's Col. Gary Powell said officers will ride from one polling place to another through the day, as they have done the past two presidential elections.

As many as 60 deputies in Richmond and Columbia counties underwent an eight-hour training course Thursday to learn crowd control and disbursement techniques in the event of overexuberant celebrating or worse.

Col. Powell said the training was not geared to the election. It was just the time when the Georgia State Patrol could conduct it. He said that since shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, the department has issued road patrol deputies riot gear, but most had not had formal training.

"There will be no riot people out during Election Day," he said. "We're not anticipating problems."