Low Voter Turnout for Election that ‘Seems Certain’

The has served as a trial run for a change that will go into effect with the November general election, when voters will be asked to show photo identification before casting a vote.

Barbara Kramer, a precinct judge at the , said there weren’t any problems Tuesday morning, and that everyone turned over a photo ID when asked.

But the number of people who came out to vote Tuesday morning was even less than the number who came out last November, when .

Kramer said that as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, only 33 people had come to vote—11 Republicans and 22 Democrats.

“Usually there are people here and signs are up,” Kramer said. “We used to have 600 people come to this location.”

Volunteers inside said it hasn’t been unusual for that location to be slow in the past few years. Since the building sits at the top of the hill and there’s limited parking, it’s not easy for voters to get there, they said. One volunteer said it would be nice if the location changed next year, to a building that is more handicap-accessible and has more parking.

—which was surrounded by campaign banners and party volunteers in November—had just one sign and one volunteer encouraging people to stop inside and cast their votes.

“I came here specifically because we thought this would be one of the busiest places,” said Republican Party volunteer Jared Yanovich, who had spent his morning outside the church. “We expected between 100 and 150 Republican voters to turn out.”

But those manning the polls inside said just 35 voters came through Tuesday morning—16 Republicans and 29 Democrats.

Much of the race seemed to have been decided, one elections clerk said, and that might have deterred people from coming to the polls. The presidential race seems to have narrowed down to Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, she said.

Democrat is the only one on the ballot for the 27th House District race, and two Democrats— and incumbent —are vying for a spot on the November ballot with Republican for the 14th Congressional District seat.

“Often at this polling place, people show up later in the evening, but based on the day so far, I don’t think we’re going to see that,” the elections clerk said. “If people are telling them (the outcome) is decided, they just won’t come out.”

Polls are open until 8 p.m. Follow Dormont-Brookline Patch on Tuesday evening for election updates!

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