In the first hour after the polls opened at 6 a.m., things were pretty quiet at Dwight School in New Haven, polling place for the 23rd ward. Poll workers Carletta Sanders, Aliva Mabry and John Jones (left to right) prepared for what they hope would be a steady stream of voters. But one man came by who knew the importance of the day.
By 7 a.m., only three citizens had come in to vote —” not unusual for so early in the day, but certainly no better than on other primary days, either. One of them was John Warren, 73, who’s lived in New Haven for 50 years but who grew up in Arkansas in the days when African Americans had a hard time voting (leaving aside the fact that many of them still do). Despite the efforts of incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman and his anti-war challenger, Ned Lamont, to court votes in the black community, Warren (pictured, showing his identification to poll worker John Jones) said he didn’t see much more excitement in this race than any other. But he said it’s important to vote. Click here to listen.
Democratic Party Ward Co-chair and 23rd Ward Alderman Yusuf Shah (pictured) stopped by to make sure everything was ready to go. He said he expected a big turnout later in the day. Click here to listen.
This reporter asked Shah if the presence of campaign workers for Ned Lamont (like Chris Langley, center, pictured with Shah and another Lamont worker) and the lack of same for the man he’s challenging, Sen. Joe Lieberman, indicated how the ward is likely to vote. There were also DeStefano signs posted nearby and campaign workers just arriving, but no sign of any support for Malloy. Click here to listen to his answer.
Vera Peterson, moderator of the Dwight School polling station, explained that she had one voting booth up and running and another on standby, “for the just in case.” Click here to listen to her voting day message.