WOODSFIELD — Monroe County reflected the rest of the country by voting in record numbers this year.

A total of 71.89 percent of registered voters went to the polls this year compared to 71.20 percent in 2008, which was the previous turnout record. This year’s election put tremendous pressure on poll workers said Molly Landefeld, Director of the Monroe County Board of Elections. She has been in charge since March but has worked in the office since 2010.

Landefeld said all of the volunteers at the 20 precincts across the county performed well in what is a thankless job. She added that the tone of this year’s election took a lot out of people who give of their own time in service to the community.

Landefeld said there was a significant increase in the number of people calling or stopping in with questions about the election process this year. She also said people were more defensive and ready to challenge answers to their questions.

Charlotte Dannemiller was in charge of the polling location at the Monroe County Board of Developmental Disabilities, which is located on Fairground Road just outside of Woodsfield. She has worked the polls for 20 years and has never seen a turnout like this year. As of 7 p.m. 831 voters had cast ballots there.

The Lewisville Community Center was run by Anita Delong, who said this was the largest voting turnout she has seen in the six years she has worked the polls. As of 6:15 p.m. 621 citizens had voted there. Delong had 18 paper ballot stations and two DS-200 voting machines to process the ballots along with four tablet devices to help keep the process as efficient as possible.