Merrimack Town Council to Eye Election Problems

MERRIMACK, NH - The Merrimack Town Council will be looking at the recent traffic changes made to the town’s only polling location that turned out to be a complete nightmare on Feb. 9, 2016, with long lines of voters waiting to get to the polls.

Becky Thompson, the executive secretary for the town of Merrimack, issued a statement earlier today stating that the council regretted “any inconvenience experienced by our citizens” during the presidential primary.

“The Merrimack Town Council would like to acknowledge the great difficulty with traffic during this Presidential Primary and that we will examine options and alternatives to prepare for the Presidential Election in November,” the statement said. “We will be working with the Police Department and Election Officials to address these issues.”

The traffic was re-routed police from McElwain and Woodbury streets and exit the parking lot onto O’Gara Drive to Baboosic Lake Road, in an effort to prepare for what was expected to be a very high voter turnout. The plan, officials later admitted, made things worse.

Polls in Merrimack were allowed to stay open later in order to accommodate the hundreds of people waiting in line to vote.

Caption: The scene outside of Merrimack High School around 11 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2016, as voters headed to the polls.Credit: Jeffrey Hastings/Frame of Mind Photography.FrameofMindPhoto.com.