Primary Day Gets off to a Slow Start in Brookline

When Brenda McIntyre opened the doors of a side room in Town Hall this morning, she was surprised to find just one person waiting to cast their ballot.

McIntrye, a warden who has staffed the Precinct 4 polls for years, said she usually sees at least a half dozen people lined up to vote on their way to work. But today, there was only one voter in the first 20 minutes.

Poll watchers had expected today's state primary to be a somewhat quiet affair despite a high-profile congressional race and a few hard-fought local campaigns. Many candidates are unopposed in their bid for their party's nomination, though there are a few notable exceptions.

Brookline's state senator, Cynthia Creem, has had to fight to keep her seat from the highly active campaign of challenger Charles Rudnick, and in precincts 5, 14, 15, and 16, voters are being asked to choose from a slew of candidates for state representative. To find who's running in your precinct and where they stand on the issues, go to Brookline Patch's Ballot Cheat Sheet.

In Precinct 5, where State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez is trying to fend off challenger Jeffrey Herman, Precinct Clerk Regina Frawley said she was pleased with the morning turnout. By 9 a.m., two hours after the polls opened, the Precinct 5 polling place at the Lincoln School had already counted more than 70 voters.

"I don't think that's a bad turnout at this time in the morning," Frawley said. "I think that's pretty darn good."

But in Precinct 2, where Rep. Frank Smizik is running unopposed, poll workers were less enthusiastic.  By 8:40 a.m., the polling place at the Coolidge Corner Library had seen 52 voters.

Precinct Warden Judith Flewelling, who has worked the polling place for nearly 10 years, said the turnout was not surprising for a primary. The real show, she said, will be at this fall's general election.

"We're not expecting this to be terribly busy compared to November," Flewelling said.