While there is still plenty of politicking to be done, thousands made their decision early and cast a ballot Tuesday in the first day of early voting.

About two dozen people were waiting outside the Butler County Board of Elections at 8 a.m. when doors opened. During the first 50 minutes, 33 people voted, according to election officials. But 5 p.m., 540 votes had been cast.

“They were orderly, no rushing the doors,” Deputy Director Jocelyn Bucaro said with a smile.

In Warren County, six voters were waiting for doors to open. In Hamilton County voters camped out in the rain to be among the first. Officials said a total of 268 people voted in Warren County Tuesday.

Steven and Alisha Campbell were two of the first 33 in Butler County to vote. The couple said they both voted for President Barack Obama.

“We knew how we were going to vote. There was no need to wait,” said Steven Campbell, 33, of Trenton.

Poll worker Frieda Demus said Election Day can be “crazy” and voting early means she is assured her ballot will the cast.

“And this election is very important to me. I wanted to be one of the first to vote for Barack Obama,” said the 60-year-old West Chester Twp. resident.

Demus said she is proud to be a Democrat in the Republican dominated Butler County.

“It takes more courage to be a Democrat in Butler County than a Republican,” Demus said.

Middletown residents Michelle Massey, 40 and Doug Massey, 45, said they too knew who they supported in the November elections and saw no reason to wait. They voted for Republican Mitt Romney in the presidential race.

Patty Burnett, 57, of Hanover Twp., has been a lifelong Democrat, but turned out early to cast her vote for Romney.

Burnett said she didn’t want to stand in long lines on Election Day and said her decision was made.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be Obama,” she said. Her husband, Larry, said he casts his vote for the candidate he likes the best, not by party. This year, he said, the couple did not cancel out each other’s votes for president.

Campaigns were in full swing with signs lining the entrance to the Butler County Board of Elections. A Romney/Ryan bus parked in the lot for two hours as volunteers made calls, putting out the message “commit to Mitt.”

First Lady Michelle Obama was also in the region speaking to a crowd in Cincinnati.

A postal worker arrived at the Butler County office about 10 a.m. to pick up the 20,300 absentee ballots requested from voters. Bucaro said the office expects to mail out 40,000 absentee ballots in this presidential election.