New Haven Voters Line Up by the Thousands Before 6:00 AM

Thousands of New Haven voters had lined up by 6:00 this morning at polling sites, waiting more than an hour to cast their ballots. (photo: Paul Bass, NewHavenIndependent.org)

The following excerpt is from the daily NewHavenIndependent.org, posted Nov. 4, 2008.  Read the full article at NewHavenIndependent.org/archives/2008/11/get_ready_to_wa.php.

Thousands of New Haveners lined up at dawn — and out the door of polling places — to, as student Kyana William (in photo to the left) put it, be a part of history.

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 either Barack Obama or John McCain; 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 it to the polls by the official 8 p.m. close.

“It’s going to be history,” Kyana William, 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.

“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 in 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.

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.

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.

Boxes of Chabaso Bakery bread, which New Haven voters get for free today as part of an Election Day tradition.
photo: Paul Bass, NewHavenIndependent.org

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.

source:  NewHavenIndependent.org

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