Newton Override Election: Voters Say 'Yes, Yes, Yes' [UPDATED]

Updated 8:58 p.m.

The results are in, and Newton voters passed all three override questions.

8:25 p.m.

The polls in Newton are officially closed and results are trickling in via the Newton Election Commission website.

As of 8:25 p.m., all three questions were passing with "yes" with 10 precincts reporting in the city. There are 32 precincts total. 

Stay tuned to Patch for updates on the voting!

6:05 p.m.

We've received a few more poll updates from our Twitter followers:

• @psyton (David Goldblatt) reported 389 at Memorial-Spaulding (8/2) as of 6:40 p.m. 

• @lisapgreco (Lisa Parlagreco) reported 525 votes cast at the Newton Free Library (2/4) as of 5:10 p.m. This is roughly 28 percent of the registered voters in the precinct.

• @WeatherFred (Fred Winer) reported 600 votes cast at Zervas Elementary (5/4) as of 6 p.m. This is roughly 27 percent of the registered voters in the precinct.

If you'd like to watch the NewTV special election coverage live, you can catch a live stream of the show right here on Newton Patch.

5 p.m.

As of 3 p.m., Newton Election Commission Interim Executive Secretary Peter Koutoujian estimated turnout in Newton to be between 18-20 percent so far. Koutoujian said it is hard to predict how the overall turnout will be, especially with the potential rainy forecast. 

By comparison, the 2008 override election brought out 47 percent of the registered voters in Newton.

As of 3:25 p.m., 429 votes had been cast at the Newton Senior Center (Ward 2, Precinct 3). 

We reported 258 votes cast at Pellegrini Field House as of 3:45 p.m., but Patch reader Paul Lavigne updated that report with a total of 318 votes around 4:45 p.m.

Check out a compilation of local Tweets related to the Newton override here.

1:30 p.m.

After stopping by a few polling locations in Newton, voter turnout ranged between 12-18 percent as of 1 p.m.

Most polling location volunteers told Patch that voter traffic has been relatively slow this morning and early afternoon.

As of noon, around 150 votes had been cast at the Shuman Center polling location (Ward 8, Precinct 4), one of the city's smallest precincts. This represents around 13 percent of the registered voters in 8/4. 

Volunteers at the Shuman Center were surprised with the turnout so far today, saying that the numbers were higher than expected. The volunteers estimate roughly 300 votes (or 25 percent of the precinct) would be cast by the end of the day. 

Over at Weeks House (Ward 6, Precinct 2), 293 votes had been cast as of 12:15 p.m. Ward 6 Alderman-at-Large Greg Schwartz said the turnout has been slow so far today, but it is possible traffic will pick up a bit once voters get out of work. 

Ward 6, Precinct 3 (Hyde Community Center) reported a 16 percent turnout as of 12:30 p.m., with just over 300 ballots counted. 

Ward 2, Precinct 4 (Newton Free Library) had a similar story, with 17 percent turnout as of 12:50 p.m.

Newton Patch also a received a few other updates from readers and Twitter followers:

• Patch reader Susan reported 220 votes cast at the Senior Center (2/3) as of 10 a.m.

• Ann Larner reported 180 votes cast at the Peirce School (3/2) as of 9:50 a.m.

• @newtoncentre reported via Twitter a 12 percent turnout so far at the Emerson Community Center (5/1).

• @wisekaren (Karen Wise) reported via Twitter she was the 377th voter in Ward 5, Precinct 4 (Zervas) as of 1 p.m. This is an 18 percent turnout so far.

Do you have a poll report for us? Leave a comment below! Also, please remember to upload your election photos by clicking the "Upload photo/video" button above!

Posted earlier:

Newton voters are heading to the polls today to cast their "yes" or "no" votes .

Throughout the day today, Newton Patch will be updating this story with information from the polls. After the polls close this evening, we will post the results here and on our homepage. 

"A Guide to the Newton Override Special Election" -- everything you need to know before voting today.

As of 10:45 a.m., the Newton Election Commission was busy handling the polls and could not provide an official update on voter turnout. However, we have received a few updates from local voters.

As of 9:05 a.m., Waltham Patch Editor Ryan Grannan-Doll reported that 115 ballots had been cast at Ward 4, Precinct 4 (Burr School). Based on the number of registered voters in the November presidential election, that is roughly 7 percent of the voters in 4/4.

Newton Patch has also received a number of early voting reports on Twitter:

• Around 8:45 a.m., @psyton (David Goldblatt) reported 66 votes cast at Ward 8, Precinct 2 (Memorial-Spaulding Elementary). 

• Around 9:40 a.m., @newtonmortgage (Dick Lee) reported 99 votes cast at Memorial-Spaulding. Basing numbers off of the November presidential election, this represents about 5 percent of the registered voters in 8/2.

• Twitter user @csevenb (Laura McGerigle) reported 84 votes cast at Ward 3, Precinct 3 as of 9 a.m.

• @newtoncentre reported 131 votes cast of 1633 registered in Ward 5, Precinct 1 (Emerson Community Center) as of 10 a.m. This includes absentee ballots.

• Around 9:30 a.m., @cherylstober (Cheryl P. Stober) reported that she was ballot 180 at Ward 6, Precinct 3. According to the number of registered voters in the presidential election, that is roughly 9 percent of the precinct.

Newton Patch is heading out to the polls and we'll have more updates for you this afternoon!

Do you have a poll report for us? Leave a comment below! Also, please remember to upload your election photos by clicking the "Upload photo/video" button above!