Slow Going Early On at the Polls

Election Day 2011 in Enfield has started out on the slow side in terms of voter participation.

Candidates from both political parties said activity has not seemed as brisk as it is during presidential election years.

Peter Jonaitis, a Republican member of the Board of Education, said he had been to several polling places and that "none seemed very busy."

Democrat Jill Krawiec, who is challenging for the District 1 Town Council seat, said she has been at John F. Kennedy Middle School since the polls opened at 6 a.m. "It was a little busier this morning, it slowed down around lunchtime, but it's picked up again," she said.

Mark Sheehan, Republican deputy registrar of voters, said as of 2:30 p.m., approximately 750 people had cast their ballots at the middle school out of about 6,600 registered voters in the district.

Samantha Wages, 18, emerged from the middle school and yelled, "I just voted!" The recent graduate of Enfield High School, participating in the election process for the first time, said, "I thought it was going to be those confusing machines, but it was the written ballot."

Wages said she plans to vote in every election. "You can't complain if you don't vote," she said.

Voting is open until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Enfield residents vote at the following locations: District 1, John F. Kennedy Middle School; District 2, Enfield High School; District 3, Fermi High School; and District 4, Henry Barnard School.