Super Tuesday voting in Gardner - did early voting make a difference?

Gardner voters went to the polls for the 2024 presidential election Super Tuesday primary, and turnout was light at most of the city’s polling places.

This was the first presidential primary election in Massachusetts where early voting was permitted. But City Clerk Titi Siriphan said not many Gardner voters took advantage of the new feature for this election.

“The first day was Feb. 24, a Saturday, and we had about 30 voters,” she said. “And then when we were open the following week and, on average, was between 13 and 20 voters per day. It was a slow turnout.”

According to poll workers, voter turnout was “slow but steady” at the Polish American Citizens Club, where residents who reside in Ward 5 cast their ballots. About 500 people had turned out to vote by late morning.

Voter turnout at precincts described as 'slow' and 'average'

At City Hall, where Ward 3 residents vote, the number of voters who had cast a ballot before noon was about 224, a number which included early voting and mail-in ballots. One poll worker speculated that the morning’s dreary weather could have played a part in keeping residents, especially the elderly, at home for the day.

“It’s a little slow, about a third of what we usually get,” said Kevin Ares, a warden at the Gardner Public Library, where Ward 2 residents cast their ballots. “But we’ll be busy between 3 and 8 o’clock.”

At the Elks Home, Roland Mailloux, warden for Ward 1, described voter turnout early in the day as “average.”

“It’s not as busy as a regular election,” he said.

But poll workers at the Gardner Police Department headquarters, where residents in Ward 4 vote, told a different story.

“It’s been surprisingly busy,” said Ronald Roy, warden for Ward 4. “It’s been busy since 7 o’clock.”

City Clerk not expecting big Super Tuesday turnout

Based on previous elections, Siriphan said she was not expecting a big turnout for the Super Tuesday primary.

“I looked at the 2020 primary, and it was slow – it was about 2,800 people that came out to vote for that primary,” she said.

Other states holding their primary elections on Tuesday include Alabama, Alaska (GOP only), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Super Tuesday presidential primary voter turnout in Gardner so far