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NILES — As election results remain in the hands of Berrien County election officials, the final counts are still unofficial. Niles City Clerk Linda Casperson said her office was busy all day long yesterday.

“There were lines, and it is quite exciting,” Casperson said. “We put a lot of work into every election that we do. It’s rewarding to see that people are out there and making our work worthwhile.”

Casperson has been doing election work for at least 30 years.

“This was by far one of the busiest elections I have ever done,” she said.

Both absentee ballots and day-of voting turnouts were impressive in the city of Niles, Casperson said.

With COVID-19 precautions keeping Niles City Hall closed to the public, curbside and drive-thru options were permitted for early, absentee voters needing to register to vote or cast their ballots.

“I think the curbside did serve the people of the community,” Casperson said. “They didn’t have to wait for very long. I think it went very well. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s very rewarding to see that people came out.”

Casperson said the people who worked the election were “amazing.”

“I certainly couldn’t have done it without them. They stepped up to the plate,” she said. “They were on the front line, and I give them all the credit.”

Niles Charter Township Clerk Terry Eull took the day off, after reportedly being in the office into the early hours of the morning after the polls closed.

On Tuesday, he said there had been lines in the morning, and expected a rush after work as well.

• According to ElectionReporting.com, Niles Charter Township had a voter turnout of 58.7 percent, with 7,096 of its 12,089 registered voters casting ballots.
• The city of Niles had 4,833 total voters turn out for election day. Niles has 10,447 registered voters, bringing turnout to 46.26 percent.
• The city of Buchanan saw a 56.41 percent voter turnout, with 2,073 of its 3,675 registered voters casting ballots.
• The percentage overall for Berrien County was a voter turnout of 60.46 percent, with 81,590 out of 134,947 registered voters casting their ballots for the election.