Long Lines Reported At Westfield Polls

WESTFIELD, NJ - Residents took to social media Tuesday to share their experiences at the polls and the results varied depending on time and location. Some said they breezed in and out, while others reported they waited over an hour to cast their ballot.

Lines reportedly formed before 6 a.m., as resident Tom Smith posted to Twitter that there were quite a few people in line before the polls opened at his Westfield polling location.

"Did not look like any midterm I remember," Smith said.

Yes, quite a few in line before the polls opened at my polling place in Westfield. Did not look like any mid-term I remember.
— Tom Smith (@doublemahi) November" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/doublemahi... 6, 2018

Members of a Westfield Facebook group reported varied experiences. Some posted they waited 30 minutes to vote at the Edison Intermediate School while others said they were in and out quickly. No lines were reported at County of Union Administrative Building on North, and under ten minutes at Wilson Elementary School.

The most varied time reported came from the polling location at Westfield Armory where some said they waited a few minutes while others said they were in line for over an hour.

Steve Gorelick posted on Twitter that he encountered significant lines Tuesday morning.

"NEVER seen longer lines at the polls here in Westfield, NJ," he wrote.

NEVER seen longer lines at the polls here in Westfield, NJ.
— Steve Gorelick (@sgorelick) November" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/sgorelick/... 6, 2018

Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle posted her thoughts on the polling lines to Facebook, asking that residents make the most of the situation if they ended up waiting.

"Please vote today," Brindle said. "Lines may be long but take the opportunity to meet your neighbors."

Brindle told Patch that the added wrinkle for voters in Westfield were the new touch screens for voting the town is piloting. Brindle said it isn't a matter of the machines not working properly, but more of a learning curve with people taking longer than they would normally to vote.

"We're the guinea pig for the county," Brindle said. "People seem to be taking a little longer to figure it out. People are double and triple checking that they did it right, not so much that they are having a problem with them."

Brindle noted that there were lines outside the elementary schools to vote at 5:40 a.m.

"That is right up there with a presidential election," Brindle said. "I think that is fantastic."

Registered voters are assigned a specific election district and polling place according to their street address. Your election district and voting location are printed on the face of your Sample Ballot, which is mailed to registered voters before an election. A voters' polling location may also be searched by accessing the New Jersey Division of Elections Polling Place Locator.

You can also see a list broken down by Wards here.

Locally, Westfield has a contested race in the 2018 school board election. There are six candidates vying for three three-year seats on the school board. Candidates include: Gretchan R. Ohlig, Tara Oporto, Simon Cirasa, Dennis Cariello, Charles R. Ostroff and Robert S. Garrison.

Challenges facing the Westfield Board of Education is the safety and security of the staff and the students. The school board is currently looking at the facilities and what funds need to be invested where in order to increase safety. The district is also dealing with State mandates on assessments, like PARCC. We sent out questions to all candidates involved in the race. Links to those who responded are below:

Take Five with Gretchan R. Ohlig

Take Five with Tara Oporto

Take Five with Simon Cirasa

Take Five with Dennis Cariello

Take Five With Charles Ostroff

Take Five With Robert Garrison

(Photos courtesy of the Union County Board of Elections)

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