Pat-Med Residents Vote on Election Day

Residents casting their votes in Patchogue and Medford communities told Patchogue Patch that they had few problems using the new voting method, but some did complain about not knowing  were listed on the back of the paper ballot.

In interviews with Patch, some residents said the propositions were difficult to fully understand and others said they were not aware that there were propositions on the back of the ballot. The propositions in part involve the creation of a property tax cap, a spending cap and a debt management program.

When visiting polling stations at Saxton Middle School and the Medford Fire Department earlier in the day today, voter turnout was light. However, when observing voter activity at Oregon Middle School in the late afternoon, a Patch reporter saw a larger number of people lining up to cast their ballots. One of the ballot counting machines reported that 252 votes were cast as of 5:30 p.m.

Overall, residents surveyed outside of the polling sites found the itself to be easy to understand, which now involves marking a paper ballot in a private booth and feeding them into an electronic machine afterward. Few, however, discussed their thought process when choosing candidates running for office.

Patchogue Patch will update as election results are announced.

Michael Sorrentino contributed to this story.