ATLANTA -- For the fifth day in a row, people who sought to cast ballots early in metro Atlanta were greeted with long lines and lengthy wait times before they could vote.

Friday is the final day for the weeklong program, which allows registered voters to cast an early vote in person without having to apply for an absentee ballot and give a reason why they can't vote in their precinct on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

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At the south Fulton County annex, a long line wrapped around the building. One person in the line reported waiting for nearly four hours.

Dana McLaurin said she decided to stand in the line because she fears an even longer line on Election Day.

"It was time for me to come because they're really going to be something on Tuesday," she said.

The numbers for those who have cast early votes continued to climb Thursday, nearing the 135,000 mark for the 80 counties that voluntarily report their statistics to the Secretary of State's office.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, some 134,979 voters had taken advantage of the program since the early voting window opened on Monday.

Counting those votes, along with the votes of people who have returned absentee ballots through the mail, some 281,752 Georgians already have cast votes.

Four years ago in the last presidential election, only 202,478 absentee ballots were cast. Early voting, other than by the absentee method, was not an option at the time.

Of the 80 counties which report to the Secretary of State's office, early voting continued to be heaviest in DeKalb, where 22,738 people had made trips to the polling precincts by 5 p.m. Thursday.

Cobb had recorded 15,150 votes and Gwinnett 7,593.

As he stood in the line Friday to vote at the Fulton facility, Reginald Sandifer offered advice to election officials for the next time.

"It would be better if they had more polling places," he said. "And (my) suggestion is to pass out the ballot so we can make up our minds about everything and that would speed things up a little bit."

Channel 2 Action News reporter Carol Sbarge contributed to this report.