Most of the folks strolling, trotting and biking on the marina walk bordering Miami’s City Hall on a sunny Saturday morning — the last day for early voting in the Republican primary — clearly didn’t feel the yoke of weighty political choices. Every now and then, however, someone climbed the steps into a rear City Hall door to cast a ballot.

Although there are Miami-Dade charter amendments on the ballot, including one dealing with term limits and substantial pay raises for county commissioners, the bulk of attention has gone to the Republician presidential contenders, especially front-runners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Coconut Grove’s Steven Brooks said he voted for Romney because “I want to get rid of [Barack] Obama — badly. I think Romney will appeal to more independents and more centrist voters without losing the conservatives. I think Gingrich will lose the centrists and the independents and just keep his base.”

Brooks thought the pivotal issue of the presidential election would be “Are you better off now than you were $5 trillion of debt ago? The last election, it was ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ This one is, ‘Are you better off now than you were $5 trillion ago?’ I think the answer is clearly, ‘No.’ ”

Nelly Zamora of Miami strode briskly into the polling site as if it was the one Saturday errand that just had to be done. She came out after casting her vote for Gingrich.

“Gingrich — I don’t like him,” Zamora said. “I don’t like Romney either. I want Obama to win. Does that make sense to you? And I’m a Republican.”

Like Brooks, she felt the economy would be the main issue in November, but opined, “I think the economy is coming around. I think Mr. Obama has done a great job for what he inherited. People don’t give him credit for it. I don’t think these other two clowns would’ve done any better. So, I want to keep it going the way it is.”

Coral Gables’ Maria Borden voted for Romney because “I think he has a lot of my values and what I believe in. He seems to be an honest man.

“He’s the candidate who has done something and succeeded. So, I feel he’s the proper guy to be in. He’s a business leader.”