Voter Turnout Slow and Steady at Polls

Ward 2 officials were hopeful they would see a higher number of voters on Tuesday than they saw in the city's last municipal election.

Ward 2 Clerk Susan Denenberg said they had about 400 ballots cast at the Portsmouth Middle School out of 3,492 registered voters.

She believes that will put them on pace to beat the previous municipal election voter total of 800.

At Little Harbour School, Ward 5 Clerk Ted Gray said 559 ballots out of the 3,200 registered voters had been cast as of 1 p.m. He said they saw a flurry of activity when the polls first opened and he expects more action around dinner time when more voters arrive home from work.

"I think we could get 1,000 or better," Gray said.

Several City Council candidates were also greeting voters outside of the middle school gymnasium including Stefany Shaheen and Josh Denton. City Councilors Ken Smith and Esther Kennedy were also outside looking for votes.

Shaheen said she likes her chances to capture one of the nine council seats. "I feel pretty good. We did a lot of hard work."

At Ward 1 at New Franklin School, 443 of the 3,232 registered voters had cast ballots as of 2 p.m., which puts them on pace for a 20 percent turnout. Ward 1 officials indicated the voter turnout was better than average for a municipal election.