A Busy Day At The Concord Polls Despite New Coronavirus Pandemic

CONCORD, NH — Despite fears that the new coronavirus would keep voters away from the polls in New Hampshire's capital city, turnout was slightly higher than past primaries in some wards — with a large number of absentee ballots filed.

Unofficial results from the Concord City Clerk's Office showed better than expected turnout when compared to the September 2016 and 2018 state primaries. According to Janice Bonenfant, Concord's city clerk, 3,919 voters request absentee ballots with 3,318 returned before Election Day.

At the Green Street Community Center, where Ward 5 residents vote, 692 voters had cast ballots at just after 1:15 p.m. — a little more than half of the number who voted in the 2016 and 2018 primaries.

Tara Reardon, who ran unopposed to be the Democrat's nominee for county commissioner in Merrimack County for Concord, said there was a steady stream of voters at the polls.

About 15 minutes later, at the St. John the Evangelist Church's community center, where Ward 6 voters cast ballots, 490 people had voted — about 90 votes less than the total number of votes cast in 2018 and 23 less than 2016, meaning turnout was good for the normally quiet ward. Ward Moderator Sarah Chaffee was pleased with the turnout but also thought it was more important to have informed voters rather than people just voting for the sake of voting. She hoped future voters would make sure they were briefed about the many issues in the city, state, and nation.

Around the corner, at the West Street Ward House, where Ward 7 voters participate, 945 voters had cast ballots at around 1:45 p.m. — meaning turnout would probably surpass both 2016 and 2018 primaries.

Keith Mitchell, the former Concord Police Department deputy chief, who was one of three Democrats running for sheriff, said he self-financed his primary race and felt positive about the way the day was going.

"I did a lot of social media stuff," he said. "I got a lot of good response from that."

Ward 9 voters were moved from Havenwood Heritage Heights to the city's new community center on Canterbury Road this year due to COVID-19. At around 2:15 p.m., 417 people had voted — or about two-thirds of the voters who cast ballots in the two previous primaries.

Claude Bongambe, a New American in the city, was waging a write-in campaign to gain access to the GOP slot for the Merrimack 18 state representative seat. He needed 35 write-in votes and he thought he would make it. Originally for the Democratic Republic of Congo, a place that is "not very democratic," Bongambe said, with a laugh, he was inspired to run to work to improve education and the economy in the state.

Ward 8, too, at just before 2:20 p.m., was right around two-thirds of previous primaries, at 433 votes cast.

At Ward 10 though, the historically heaviest turnout ward in the city, 1,072 people had voted as of 2:30 p.m. — more than voted in both the 2016 and 2018 primaries.

Cinde Warmington, an Executive Council candidate, who had just returned to the central part of the state from Dover and Durham, said she thought her prospects were pretty good.

"We feel great," she said. "The race has just been a wonderful experience and we've had nothing but positive feedback since day one."

Over in Ward 1, the general election matchup was already underway, with Speaker of the House, Steve Shurtleff, the Democrat, sporting a Santa Claus-COVID-19 beard, having a grand time outside of the polls with another retiree, David Newell, a former restaurant owner, who was attempting to gain access to the Republican ballot via write-in.

At 3:15 p.m., 653 residents of Penacook and Ward 1 had voted — more than 2016 and nearly the number of votes in 2018.

"I'm running because I want to see New Hampshire stay the way it is, pretty much," Newell said. "I'm for the police; I'm for education; and I don't want to see New Hampshire go the way of all the other states. New Hampshire is doing pretty well."

Shurtleff said he was seeking another term to continue leading the house through the COVID-19 pandemic although he disagreed with how well the state was doing. While Wall Street might be doing well, a lot of Main Street was not, he said.

"I'm proud of not just what I've done but what the Legislature has done, with our remote sessions, at UNH, working around (the coronavirus pandemic)," he said. "At times you wonder why you're doing it. But then, you'll meet somebody, and they'll say, you passed a law that made their life better."

At the Beaver Meadow Golf Course where Ward 3 voters cast ballots, a banquet tent was setup outside for voting. One of the election officials joked that you can play a round of golf, have a burger and a round of beers, and then vote. At 3:30 p.m., 553 people had voted — more people than 2016 and nearly as many as 2018.

At around 3:45 p.m., at the Ward 2 polling location, Patrice Myers, who was running unopposed for the GOP state representative slot, was hanging out at the polls with others, including David Croft, a Merrimack County sheriff candidate and Democrat, and Becky Whitley, who was running for the Democratic nomination for state Senate. According to the machine count, 626 people had voted — more than both 2016 or 2018.

At Ward 4, where Concord at-large City Councilor Byron Champlin was holding a sign with fellow councilor and state Senate candidate Candace Bouchard while chatting with former mayor and current state Rep. Jim MacKay, 700 people had voted around 4 p.m. — more than 2016 and just shy of the number of ballots cast in 2018.

Bouchard, who was the last person to enter the race, said she thought she ran a pretty good race but COVID-19 had definitely hampered the normal campaign processes.

"I'm happy with the way everything went," she said. "And now, it's just waiting to see what the voters say."

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