It's purely anecdotal, but I just voted and the polling place was packed with people. Normally, there are at most one or two people ahead of me in line. Today, I had to wait ten minutes just to get to the desk to show my ID. (Yes, Connecticut does require a photo ID to vote. Since that requirement was put in place by Democrats, it must not be voter suppression. Voter ID is only suppression if it is put in place by Republicans. But I digress.) After I had shown my ID and been given my ballot, I had to wait for a voting station where I could mark the ballot. There were 12 of these stations and they were all occupied. It was just a 2 minute wait because there were only three people ahead of me in line. The turnout was extraordinary.
To put this into context, earlier this year, I voted in the primary. When I got to the same polling place, I was the only voter there. It was roughly the same time of the morning. Now that was a primary, but let's compare to 2016, a presidential election. There were substantially more people voting this morning than there were at a similar hour in 2016.
There also seemed to be more new voters at the polling place. I saw five different voters who were in the wrong line. In my town, you check in according to your street name. I've always thought it a bizarre system, but that's how it's been for a long time. There are also two districts that vote at my polling place. Once you've been through the process, it's pretty easy to remember, but the first time can be confusing. There seemed to be a group of new voters, or at least new to Connecticut voters.
It was great to see the process in action. Hopefully, the big turnout was not an aberration, but is being repeated across the state and the country.
To put this into context, earlier this year, I voted in the primary. When I got to the same polling place, I was the only voter there. It was roughly the same time of the morning. Now that was a primary, but let's compare to 2016, a presidential election. There were substantially more people voting this morning than there were at a similar hour in 2016.
There also seemed to be more new voters at the polling place. I saw five different voters who were in the wrong line. In my town, you check in according to your street name. I've always thought it a bizarre system, but that's how it's been for a long time. There are also two districts that vote at my polling place. Once you've been through the process, it's pretty easy to remember, but the first time can be confusing. There seemed to be a group of new voters, or at least new to Connecticut voters.
It was great to see the process in action. Hopefully, the big turnout was not an aberration, but is being repeated across the state and the country.
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