At Polls, Turnout High, Ballot Issues Reported

From the Boston Herald:

Neither rain nor snow in dead of winter could keep voters away from the hottest special election in living memory, as elections officials today reported high voter turnouts across the state in the 11th-hour nailbiter to choose a successor for the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Steady streams of voters have been heading into the polls to have their say in the bitter contest between GOP state Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley – a fight to determine the fate of the controversial health care bill, President Obama’s agenda, and one-party dominance in Washington, D.C.

Plus this tidbit on voting in Boston:

As of 3 p.m., 81,882 people had voted in Boston, according to city figures.

Election Department Chairwoman Geraldine Cuddyer predicted turnout could be has high as 20 percent to 30 percent and possibly rival November’s mayoral election, when a little more than 31 percent of the city’s voters cast ballots to send Mayor Thomas M. Menino to a historic fifth term.

According to this story in Politico, a 20-30 percent turnout in Boston is bad news for Coakley.

And, of course, both sides are alleging ballot irregularities:

Both the Brown and Coakley campaigns have raised issues of voter irregularities with Galvin’s office.

Read the whole article here.