When you go to the polls on Tuesday, Karen Doyle Lyons, Republican Registrar for the city of Norwalk, will monitor the results via Skype.
In a cost-cutting effort, all voting locations with the exception of the one at St. Mary's will use Skype to communicate with the Registrar's Office. At St. Mary's, the city was unable to set up an Internet connection.
In another technical update, poll workers will have a paperless voting list. They'll be able to look up the voter's name, address and party affiliation on a read-only program on their laptops.
"We're testing it in the primaries," Lyons said. "We're saving on paper and we're saving on telephone installation."
Skype, a voice over Internet service, allows you to make free phone calls between computers that have the program installed. It saves the city from paying for telephone lines or service to the school voting locations.
As for the number of voters expected at the polls, Lyons was optimistic. "I figure there will be about a 30 percent turnout and I'm sticking to that," she said. Primaries are usually slower, "but there's a lot of interest in this particular one," she said. A lot of top jobs are open. That brings people out.
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