Coventry Residents Coming Out in Droves to Vote

Voter turnout has been strong in Coventry today since polls opened at 7 a.m. and continued at a steady pace throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Coventry currently has 24,478 registered voters across its 18 precincts, 22,412 of which are considered active. The three precincts with the highest number of registered voters have been among those reported by residents to have had lines during the early hours. These include Precinct 603 (polling place Club Jogues) with 2,123 registered voters, Precinct 608 (polling place ASFMS) with 2,024 and Precinct 607 (polling place Coventry Community Center) with 1,893 registered voters.

Additional locations across town have stayed busy also, including Hopkins Hill School, one of several polling places that Town Council Dist. 5 incumbent Ted Jendzejec stopped by on Tuesday afternoon.

"It seems to be a really good turnout today and it looks to be staying pretty steady," said Jendzejec. "I've seen voters of all ages show up as well as people who brought their whole family to vote. It's a really good thing to see."

Candidates and supporters can be seen making the rounds at the polling places in their districts, speaking with voters as well as each other.

In a comment on Patch's Election Day Live Blog, resident Stephanie Caldwell described her positive experience at the polls this morning, where she witnessed parents showing their children how the voting process works as well as political opponents being friendly to one another.

"People from opposite parties were being NICE to each other," she said. "Voting today has been the exact polar opposite of all the hype and snark that I've been reading for the past (FOREVER) few months. It was nice, and civil, and respectful."

Board of Canvassers Clerk Lori Anderson reiterated that the voting process continues to run smoothly with no major issues. She also predicted a late-afternoon upswing of voters as residents begin to leave work and report to the polls.

"I think it will start to pick up again around 3 or 3:30," she said. "In the past, the crowds of voters began to die down around 8:00, but I think this is an election that will keep them coming into vote right up until the polls close."

Editor's Note: Polls will close tonight at 8 p.m., a change from past elections where they stayed open until 9 p.m.