Update: Average Turnout, No Problems With New Voting Machines at Huntington Polling Places

As voters came out on Tuesday to vote in party primary elections across New York State, Suffolk County voters were met with something new – electronic voting machines. While problems have been reported throughout the county, it seemed that things were running smoothly in Huntington, at least at the Town Hall and Huntington High School sites.

"The initial set up was a bit slow, but no we've haven't had a problems with the machines," said Robert Morrow, coordinator for the Board of Elections at the Huntington High School polling site. "No, we've had none."

While Morrow said the new machines should make voting easy for those who come out to the polls, he did say he was a bit disappointed with the voter turnout, but that it was pretty typical for a primary.

"We've had a very, very low turnout," Morrow said. "I would honestly say its disappointing, but we always say in a primary that turnout is disappointing. At general elections, we get a little more, but the primary .. it's fairly small."

Another coordinator described the turnout as average, but said that many voters have said they were "pleasantly surprised by the new machines."

And local voters seem to agree.

"I thought it was very efficient," said Claire Knoetgen, who voted at Huntington High School. "I had no difficulty, everything worked out fine."

John Hall, another voter who said he has been living in Huntington for the past two years, told Huntington Patch that he was a bit worried about using the new electronic voting machines as he had seen reports on the news that people have been having problems.

"I was a little doubtful as I heard people have been having problems with the electronic voting machines, but I didn't have any problems," Hall said.

"No problems with the new machines," he added. "The only thing I would have liked was maybe a paper print out, kind of like a receipt. But I didn't see any problems I had no issues."

Morrow added that he hoped that more would come out after work, but said it was unlikely.

"I would hope [more would vote], but generally speaking there really aren't that much after work," he explained. "Any of the committed voters will vote before they go to work, in the morning or at lunch. ... I expect it to be the same as during the day."

Morrow proved to be correct as following 15 hours of voting between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., approximately 300 residents cast their vote in the 4th, 5th, 25th, 29th, and 150th election districts. When the polls closed at 9 p.m. at Huntington High School, 88 had voted in the 4th, 53 in the 5th, nearly 50 in the 25th, nearly 60 in the 29th and 49 in the 150th – an average of 20 people per hour, which Marie Labbe, one site coordinator for the Board of Elections at the Huntington High School polling place, called "normal."

"It was pretty good for a primary election," Labbe said. "I don't think it was too bad. We cannot give you the exact numbers, but we would say it was pretty decent."

Tell us about your voting experience by e-mailing paul@patch.com. We'd love to hear from you.