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Hours into primary voting at Saugatuck Elementary School, moderators Dick Lowenstein and Amy Carter said traffic at the polls has been "very slow, but steady." By 12 p.m., Carter said the center saw 229 voters. "We had a big wave around 10:30 to 11, then it slowed down again," Carter, the republican moderator said.
Lowenstein, the Democratic moderator, added that they are projecting a total voter turnout of 560 at Saugatuck Elementary alone, not including absentee ballots. "That's only a personal projection, though," Lowenstein said.
Outside of the school, Nitzy Cohen, a candidate for state representative, greeted and talked to voters as they walked inside.
"We had four months of intensive campaigning; now we're just trying trying to get the vote out," Cohen said. "The game is over and at this point it's up to the voters. But, I think interacting with voters is important."
Also at Saugatuck greeting voters was Toni Rubin, state representative candidate Stephen Rubin's wife. "[Stephen] is going to be at Long Lots all day, so we have friends and family covering the other schools," Rubin said.
Although Rubin said she thinks voters already have their minds made up when they get out to the polls, she, along with family and friends, are at the schools to add a personal touch.
For Republican Dan Coakley, Cohen's personal touch at the polls helped him decided who he was going to vote for.
"To be honest, I have not followed the state representative race in detail; I knew little about each," said Coakley, 38. "But, in the 15 minutes that I spoke to [Cohen], she answered the questions I had. She had very compelling arguments."
Concerned about government spending and creating permanent jobs, Coakley said he voted for Tom Foley for governor and Linda McMahon for senate. Primarily concerned with education reform, Democrat Maggie Feczko, 61, said she voted for Dan Malloy for governor.
"Regarding education reform, he supports charter schools," Feczko said. "He also supports having the money follow the students instead of it going to the districts."
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