Some Crowding Complaints, But Voting Goes Smoothly In Stratford

STRATFORD, CT — The polls were mostly running smoothly Tuesday in Stratford, according to voters who shared their experiences with Patch. However, a few voters said they encountered crowding when they went to cast their ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two Stratford voters told Patch they had concerns about the inability to maintain social distance at their polling place.

“It was cramped once inside, not one person was 6 feet apart,” Patch commenter Melissa said, noting her polling place used only half the existing gym space for voting. “… If the other half of the gym was open, it would have been much better.”

Jeff Harriz, also a commenter on Patch, said there were long lines when he arrived to cast his ballot at 6:30 a.m.

“Everyone (was) wearing masks, but no social distancing,” he said.

Patch readers’ experiences with crowding varied.

“Voted this morning around 7 a.m., waited in (a) socially spaced, orderly line, checked in, voted, done in 20 minutes,” Rich Kapitan said in an email to Patch.

For the most part, voters reported lines that moved smoothly or no lines at all.

“We were in and out in 10 mins,” said Suzanne Smith, a commenter on Patch.