Marcia Chambers Photo
Voters Joe and Sue Zdanowicz
UPDATE
At least one Branford voting district ran out of ballots today and one was about to as residents flocked to the polls to cast their votes in mid-term elections that will shape the future of Connecticut. Voters in the 5th district — the Pawson Park area — were told to wait or to leave and return in order to vote later in the day.Voters in District 2 in Stony Creek might have faced a similar choice but in the end poll workers called for additional backup before they ran out of applications.
“The fact that this even happened is appalling, said Alan Scott, who with his wife Marilyn arrived at the Indian Neck School ready to vote at 4:15 p.m. today. There were about a dozen people on line. “We had errands so we left and we came back later, but I wonder how many others did not. There was clearly a bigger turnout than anticipated,” Scott said. “They should have a ballot for every registered voter,” he said. Election officials could not be reached for comment.
Voting was strong throughout Branford’s 7 election districts as unaffiliated voters came out to vote. They are not permitted to do so in primaries. At District 3 in Short Beach, the lines were often long. “It’s been hectic,” said Chris Collins, the district moderator. “It’s more like a presidential election.”The district has a total of 1,969 registered voters. By 11 a.m., 430 of them had voted. By 6 p.m., twelve hours after the doors opened at Orchard House, the total had reached 1,008. “We’re better than 50 percent,” Collins said.
When the polls opened at 6 a.m. at District’s 4’s Branford Hills School voting area, there wasn’t a parking space to be found in the school’s parking lot.
“It’s been that way all day, “ said John Forgone, whose brother Frank Forgione is seeking to become the probate judge for Branford and North Branford. He was standing outside the building holding a Republican Forgione sign.
Early in the day town officials did not have a roundup of how the other five districts were doing, but if District 4 and District 3 were any indication, turnout has been high.
For Forgione, who is 45 and a state police officer, it was like old home week. He and his brother grew up on nearby Alps Road. He greeted old neighbors, and they greeted him with bear hugs and affection. The school was home to him too. He attended the Branford Hills School as a boy.
He told the Eagle that younger residents voted early, before they went to work. Now more seniors were arriving.
Adam Hansen, his Democratic counterpart, wore the signs of the Democrats running for office. He, too, grew up in the Alps Road neighborhood and like Forgione, attended the Branford Hills School. He said he went to kindergarten here.
Hansen, 28, and his wife are new to politics. They decided now was the time to become active in the Democratic Party. “My wife and I talked about it. And this year we decided to get off the couch and volunteer. I have met a lot of great people,” he said of his experience.
Voter turnout at District 4 was brisk. By 11:30 a.m.., 682 people had voted. The district has 3,456 voters. “We have had two people vote each minute,” said Nancy Lynch, a veteran poll worker.
Standing next to Hansen was Mike Goodwine, a Republican, who came to Branford this morning from Hartford. He wore a Lisa Davenport sign. She is running against State Senator Ed Meyer to represent the 12th senate district.
Goodwine, who said he was a researcher for the Senate Republican caucus in Hartford, predicted close races all the way around.
Marcia Chambers
At nearby District 3, in the Short Beach section of town, turnout was brisk. Many seniors showed up in mid-morning, often via bus.
There were election signs everywhere. Four kids and their parents were outside Orchard House, where District 3 votes. They wore Lisa Davenport tee shirts and signs.
Few voters wanted to say how they voted. One older woman, who said she had been a Republican all her life, said she voted for Linda McMahon because “I love her haircut.” But several other women, also seniors, told us they cast their vote for Richard Blumenthal, the state’s Attorney General.
During the afternoon, the steady stream of voters continued elsewhere in town. The 2nd district, in Stony Creek, ran out of ballots and called for more, workers reported. Just before 4 p.m. the tally showed that 768 of the district’s 1,882 residents had voted. Workers were anticipating a heavy turnout between 6 and 8 p.m.
There were also reports at the 2nd district that some 30 voters went to vote at St. Therese’s Church instead of going to their new polling place. They were believed to be unaffiliated voters who had not voted in the primary when Branford’s seven districts were first unveiled. Nor had they opened their mail from the Registrar of Voters telling them where to go.
At the Community House, which serves District 1, the largest of the districts with 3,415 registered voters, turnout was steady. At 4 p.m. 1,237 residents had voted.
And at the 5th District polling place at the Indian Neck School, 1,164 residents had voted as of 2:30 p.m. There are 2,866 voters in the district.
First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos arrived at the Community House at 4 p.m. ” So far there has been a very good turnout,” he said. Give the fine weather and the sunny skies, ” there is no excuse for not voting today,” he said.
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