As election officials arrived at the polls shortly after 5 a.m. on Election Day, they found voters arriving and lining up outside the polling place. By 6 a.m., when the polls opened, there were long lines of people waiting.
During the first few hours on Election Day morning, 600 voters per hour were processed through the polls. There were five check-in lines and voters were directed into the polls as safe space became available. Voters were asked to social distance, wear face masks and sanitize their hands as they entered the polls to help ensure the safety of others. Voters were patient and respectful to all others around them.
For COVID-19 safety reasons, voters were given their own markers at the same time they were given a ballot. In Suffield, we use the AccuVote-OS Optical Scan Systems to tabulate ballots. This equipment reads any color except red. Ballot ovals filled in with black, blue, or green pencil, pen or felt tip marker will be read by the scanner. Bleeding markers are not a problem with single sided ballots. No bleed markers, pens or pencils would be used on two-sided ballots.
In an effort to avoid cross contamination, the polls were set up so voters entered through the front gym door, and the voting process took them straight back to the rear of the gym where they exited the polls. Other arrangements were made for people with special needs.
A total of 8,769 voters were checked off as voting in the November 3 election. There were 5,618 voters who cast their ballots in person at the polls, 3,061 by absentee ballots, 3 by overseas ballots, and 87 chose to vote by way of Election Day Registration (EDR).
Suffield applied for and was awarded a grant in the amount of $5,526 by the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) for the purpose of planning and conducting a safe and secure election. The CTCL is a team of civic technologists, trainers, researchers, election administration and data experts working to foster a more informed and engaged democracy and helping to modernize U.S. elections. https://www.techandciviclife.org/
Many thanks to the 41 Suffield residents who worked as election officials along with all the town departments (Police, Highway, IT, School Administration) that helped make this another successful election.
Presidential Electors
Biden and Harris 4,363
Trump and Pence 4,155
Jorgensen and Cohen 140
Hawkins and Walker 26
Carroll and Patel 1
West and Tidball 1
Representative in Congress
Joe Courtney 4,353
Justin Anderson 3,853
Cassandra Martineau 110
Daniel Reale 85
State Senator
John A. Kissel 4,803
Frederick A. Moffa 3,622
State Representative
Tami Zawistowski 5,212
Jack Henrie 3,279