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LEWISBORO, N.Y. Election officials in Lewisboro were reporting that voter turnout has been brisk and steady this morning with about 10 percent of voters showing up at the polls as of 11 a.m. At the polls at Increase Miller Elementary Schools, officials said 76 voters of districts 4, 7 and 11s 747 residents had already voted.
Its been kind of a good flow, said John Nevins, one of the elections general inspectors. I think we will get around a 40 percent turnout in this district. We will get the biggest turnout when the trains start coming in around 5 oclock when people start coming home from work.
Election Inspector John Tyrrell said it was important for people to get out and vote if they are concerned with local issues. If you are concerned about local issues the way to express it through the ballot box, he said. This is year there is a dramatic difference between candidates and we hope that will bring people out [to vote].
Pearl Klainberg showed up early to cast her vote, just like she does for every election. I vote every year, even if I need to use an absentee ballot, she said. This year my major concerns are the economy and the environment. I come from a community of dirt roads, so Im concerned about who is going to take care of them.
Klainberg also said she paid particular attention to the town supervisors race as well as the race between Peter Harckham and Peter Michaelis for the county legislature. The county election is important because it has to do with honesty and what people have done in the past, she said.
At the South Salem firehouse, election officials said they were pleased with the voter turnout. Weve had a decent turnout so far, said Election Inspector Bob Fried. People came in on their way to work and we are already on our second book. Weve already doubled the turnout we had for the primary.
Fried said that although this years campaign was hampered by power outages caused by Hurricane Irene and then the Oct. 29 snowstorm, he said candidates have been mailing out fliers en masse. We are expecting a strong turnout because there are a lot of fliers out there, he said. Ive had more fliers in my mailbox than ever before. Ive gotten around five a day over the past two or three weeks.
This is the third time that Lewisboro has used the new optical scanning voting machines most recently in Septembers primary and officials at Increase Miller said the machines have not presented any technical problems.
Theres been a period of adjustment, said Tyrrell. Its automation. Many people are nostalgic for the old machines where you just pulled a lever.
Fried said voters at the South Salem firehouse werent all that happy with the new machines. People do tend to make errors with these machines, he said. Weve had some who voted erroneously, but its not their fault. But the machines themselves are working fine.
As temperatures climbed into the mid-60s by late morning, officials said the beautiful weather was also contributing to the strong turnout.
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