Good Voter Turnout to Start the Day

Assistant Registrar Shirley Taylor, who was working at the polls at Juliet W. Long School in Gales Ferry today, recalled that last summer’s special election for judge of probate was one of the longest days of her life.

“We were here from 6 in the morning until 8 at night,” she said, and in all that time fewer than 200 votes were cast in Gales Ferry. “You bring a good book,” she said.

Today looks to be a bit livelier. It was not quite 8:30 yet this morning, and already more than 300 Gales Ferry voters had cast ballots in the 2011 municipal election for mayor, Town Council and Board of Education.

“We had 25 people waiting in line when we got here,” said Pat Weiner, who was also at the polls in Gales Ferry this morning. “It’s been very steady.”

It was a similar story in at the Ledyard Center School in Ledyard Center this morning.

“It’s been busy,” said Monitor Gail Wipfler in Ledyard Center, who said business has been especially brisk for a municipal election.

At both polling places candidates huddled outside the voting perimeter, holding their signs and waving to passersby. In Ledyard Center, Incumbent Mayor Allyn Fred. B. Allyn Jr. campaigned with Democrats Tony Saccone, Mary McGrattan and Ed Monahan.

In Gales Ferry, it was mostly Republicans, including Linda Davis, John Marshall and Kevin Dombrowski, among others, outside the polls.

The town received more than 120 absentee ballots yesterday. “That’s a lot for a town election,” Wipfler said.

Asked her take on the turnout, she said, “I don’t know… people are just interested in change, I would think.”

But she said even the beautiful autumn weather – cool, clear and crisp this morning – could be playing a role. “I think that could have a lot to do with it. I remember another election I worked it was pouring rain, and it was really slow,” she said.

Last year, both polling places ran out of ballots. But that’s not likely this time, Wipfler said.

“We have more ballots for this election that we did for the presidential election,” she said. “We’re not going to run out.”