(Updated) Thousands of New Haveners began lining up at dawn — and out the door of polling places — to, as Southern student Kyana Williams (pictured at left ) put it, be a part of history. Betty Cordoza (top photo), 82, waited over an hour to cast her vote at the Berger Apartments in West River.
From Hillhouse to Truman school, from the East Shore to Westville, voters started showing up well before the polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday, many of them excited to cast their ballot for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Precincts that see handfuls of voters trickle in during the course of a typical election day had people willing to wait an hour or more to vote. Officials suggest that voters prepare to wait as long as two hours to cast their ballots, depending on what time they arrive. Voters have the opportunity to fill out ballots for Barack Obama, John McCain or Ralph Nader; candidates for U.S. Congress, State Senate and State House of Representative; and a controversial ballot question.
Lines shrank somewhat after the morning rush hour, with waits down to 35 minutes even in busier spots like Ward 25’s Edgewood School. Officials expect the lines to stretch back out at peak times, and anticipate keeping the polls open as late as 10 p.m. to accommodate all the voters who make to the polls by the official 8 p.m. close.
“It’s been a beautiful hour,” Betty Cordoza said as she approached the voting booth at Berger Apartments. When she got to the polling station, the line stretched down the block all the way to the Dunkin’ Donuts. Someone gave her a wheelchair to rest in. Morning lines lasted up to two hours, according to the voting moderator.
As she waited, Cordoza waved to friends passing by. She is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and community organizer in the West River area. She said voted for Obama with her little ones in mind.
“I’d like to see somebody give the youth an uplift,” she said. “Everything I do is for them, to upgrade their lives.”
“It’s going to be history,” Kyana Williams, a 20-year-old social work major, said as she stood on the line outside the Elllsworth Avenue firehouse. “To actually see the first black president in office! I’m going to be contributing.”
By 10:15 a.m. 477 people had voted at the usually sleepy polling spot, according to Ward 24 Alderwoman Liz McCormack. She said she had “never, never” seen a parade like this in her 22 years working elections in the ward.
State Rep. Toni Walker was ebullient after standing waiting an hour starting at 6 a.m. alongside other Ward 28 voters at Hillhouse High School.
“How can you not be excited about today?” she said. “People who had never voted are standing in line for an hour to make history. New Haven has never seen anything like this.”
She encountered one 8 year-old boy who stood on line alongside his mother. He told Walker they were voting for Obama. She asked why.
“He’s going to bring health care for everybody,” the boy said. His mom chimed in: “He watches MSNBC more than I do!”
Reader Khalid Lum showed up at Troup School at 5:30 a.m. in order to be one of the first to cast ballots. A hundred fellow voters had shown up by the time the doors opened, and the line continued growing, he reported.
The foyer to the recently rebuilt school remained jammed through mid-morning (pictured).
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At Edgewood School, Natalie Judd poured coffee for voters in lines snaking through the winding art-filled hallways. The PTO served homemade chicken and rice, pasta fagiole, and vegetarian curry soups along with baked goods. By 9 a.m., 551 Westvillians had already cast their ballots at the Ward 25 polling spot.
Sharon Ferrucci has worked election day since 1979. She predicted Tuesday’s election will be New Haven’s busiest not just of her 29 years on the job — but since the man whose picture hangs on her office wall, John F. Kennedy, won the presidency in 1960. That year the U.S. elected its first Catholic president. This year it may elect its first African-American.
“Bring crocheting. Bring knitting. Bring a happy smile on your face and be happy that you live in this country and you’re able to vote,” Ferrucci (pictured with deputy Helen Powell-King) said Monday in her busy second-floor office as she got ready to swear in Tuesday’s moderators for the city’s 35 polling places. “For me this is the most exciting election I’ve ever prepared for.”
Statewide, officials are anticipating a record 2.1 million voters. Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz Monday suggested that people consider voting between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to avoid the longest lines. (Click here for Christine Stuart’s report.)
Ferrucci began to see the high-pitched excitement in New Haven in the March presidential primary. The interest in voting has peaked this fall: Between Sept. 23 and Oct. 29, the deadline for this election, the number of registered voters in town leaped from around 58,000 to 65,159. (Breakdown: 44,913 Democrats, 2,710 Republicans, 17,200 unaffiliated, and 336 “other.”)
Another indication of the voting excitement this year: About 3,500 New Haveners have already voted by absentee ballot, compared to a total of around 1,400 in a typical election, according to Deputy City Clerk Sally Brown.
Where To Vote, & What For
For some voters, polling places shift each year in New Haven because of the way state legislative districts are drawn. Wards sometimes have more than one voting place because some of the voters vote in, say, the 11th State Senate district, some in the 10th.
Click here for a list of polling places, broken down by ward and district. Confused? Call 946‑8035.
After voting, take your “I voted” sticker to Atticus Bookstore Caf√©, Chabaso Bakery Outlet, Nica’s Market, and Romeo and Casare’s Market to pick up a free loaf of artisan bread, courtesy of Chabaso Bakery. It’s an election day tradition in New Haven.
Besides the presidential race, Democratic U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is being challenged by Republican Boaz ItsHaky and Green Ralph Ferrucci. Democrat State Sen. Toni Harp is facing a challenge from Republican Melissa Papantones; click here for a story on that race. Democratic State Rep. Pat Dillon has a challenge from Republican Paul Ortiz. Democratic newcomer Gary Holder-Winfield and independent Willie Greene are squaring off in the 94th District. The city’s other state legislators face no opponents.
There’s also a competitor for the office of Registrar of Voters. Sharon Ferrucci and Republican Rae D. Tramontano are guaranteed reelection under the charter. The Greens are fielding a candidate, Charlie Pillsbury, their local party chairman. Pillsbury is replacing Green Mary Anne Davis on the ballot; if he wins, the city will have a third registrar.
Voters can weigh in on two ballot questions, as well. One, pushed by opponents of same-sex marriage, would pave the way for a state constitutional convention; read about that here and here. The second question would allow 17 year-olds to vote in primaries if they turn 18 on the day of the general election.
Anticipating Problems
Sharon Ferrucci is telling moderators to prepare for people who wait hours to vote, only to learn their names aren’t on the list. If that happens, her instructions are as follows:
Step 1: She wants moderators to call in to the central registrars’ office to see if the person’s name appears on the inactive voters’ list, which remains in effect for four years after lost contact with a voter.
Step 2: If not, the voter may have come to a polling place where he or she used to vote before moving somewhere else. In that case, moderators will have forms for the voters to fill out to take to the right place.
Step 3: If people are eligible to vote, but haven’t registered, they can cast a presidential ballot in the Board of Aldermen chambers on the second floor of City Hall. They can vote for president only.
Ferrucci is telling moderators to station volunteers outside to keep watch over lines when the polls close at 8 p.m. Anyone who shows up by then will be allowed to vote; anyone who arrives later will not be allowed on the line. Ferrucci anticipates it could take to as late as 10 p.m. to get everyone inside to vote.
Despite all the potential headaches, Ferrucci was positively chipper Monday. She said she’s ready. After all, she’s an old pro.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been ready for months,” she said. “When do I get my cake?”
Melissa Bailey contributed to this story.