We voted last Saturday here in NM. Early voting started in mid-October and you could go to any polling place you wanted. The one we went to was packed at 9 a.m. There was a line of about 10 minutes to get a place to sit and fill out your ballot.
I voted in Albuquerque the first Tues of early voting and also had to wait for 10 mins or so. My son on other side of town but different day said it was crowded there too. So don’t know what scheme is behind telling us how light the turnout is ??