At least some of the ballots cast in Connecticut seem destined for controversy after a day of heavy turnout and long lines in the mid-term elections.
The Republican party has said it will go to court to seek an injunction after people who were waiting in line for same-day registration were allowed to vote after 8:00 pm. Voters at at least one location were told that as long as they had filled out the registration paperwork by the deadline, their ballots would still count.
Turnout was heavy throughout the day, and in some places voters faced long lines as they waited to cast their ballots. Voters in Groton reported a 20 minute wait to vote. There were also reports of lines in Hartford, Stonington, Bristol and Wallingford among many other towns. Meanwhile, state officials say that as of 3:00 pm, 100 cities and towns reported 42.7 percent of registered voters had voted. (These reports did not include numbers from the major cities, including Hartford, Bridgeport, and Waterbury.)
As voters cast their ballots across the state, political divisiveness was on the minds of many heading to the polls. In South Glastonbury, Amanda Horvath said she hasn’t watched much TV lately because she wants to ignore political ads.
“I can’t stand it when they do name-calling and such. I can’t," she said. "Just focus on the issues. And, I would focus more on the economic issues because that’s what matters more to me.”
Raymond Laramie teaches at a community college and he cares about education funding. He said that this negative style of politics is all about playing to emotion and avoiding the issues.
“I was listening to radio coming here and the communications director from one of the major parties was being interviewed and he wouldn’t give anyone a straight answer. It’s all spin,” said Laramie.
Evan Seretan said that voters can avoid the divisiveness by staying away from national politics and focusing on local issues.
“I think we should really look hard and not be distracted by our national federal politics right now and look at who’s going to make the most sense for Connecticut," he said. "I have a two year-old daughter. I work currently. My wife works. We want to make sure we continue to have a robust economy here in Connecticut, continue to have availability of jobs.”
There were reports during the day that some campaigns have posted challengers at polling station, ready to question voters who they believe aren't eligible.
Update: Stefanowski has at least one challenger at 200 Orange St, probably more around NHV. He is not talking to the press & called Qs from the @newhavenindy "totally inappropriate behavior in a polling place." @johndankosky @colinmcenroe @ctnewsjunkie
— Lucy Gellman (@lsgellman) November 6, 2018
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has issued guidance on the law regarding challenges to voting.
"Although we take great pains to ensure that only eligible voters are allowed to vote, we are also careful to avoid potential voter intimidation," she said in a recent news release. "Challenges to the eligibility of voters should not be made lightly - they are made under oath and only when there is reason to believe they have merit, for good reason. Frivolous challenges are likely to slow down the voting process, or even cause some eligible voters to stay away."
It’s the first time voting for many young people in Connecticut, and voter registration among young adults is up sharply this year. Elida Sanchez, a freshman at Southern Connecticut State University voted early. She told Connecticut Public Radio's Where We Live why she was eager to cast her ballot.
“I really do believe this midterm election is so important, because it has a great impact on what's going to happen in the House and the Senate,” she said. “The gubernatorial race that’s going on right now is also very important.”
At the other end of the age spectrum, lines at her polling station in Branford didn't deter 100-year-old Alexine Wallace. Her daughter brought her to cast her ballot Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, the office of the Secretary of the State told Connecticut Public Radio this afternoon that the state had yet to see any major issues at the polls. But some towns may not have heeded the advice of the state officials to treat this midterm election as though it would have the turnout of a presidential year. And, a spokesman for the office said that some towns are now considering their options should they run out of ballots during evening polling.
