VIDEO: Scenes from an Election

DEMOCRAT JOE COURNEY and Republican Linda McMahon joined candidates at the Fair Oaks Community Center today, to lend support and draw a little more attention to the races.

"I want to make sure the candidates are fighting hard," McMahon said.

She and Town Council incumbent Ellen Hillman talked family, and set about comparing grandchildren. Hillman's 22 easily beat out McMahon's six.

McMAHON HAD VISITED a number of polling places in different towns already by late this morning. There was food and drink at all of them.

"I could eat my way across the state," she said.

COURTNEY HAD VISITED polling places in towns hard hit by the power outages caused by the freak snowstorm last Saturday. Power had only come back on at his house recently.

In some towns, polling places had to be moved because of the power failure. "Can you imagine?" he asked.

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS at Fair Oaks had different takes on voter turnout. Hillman said she thought the turnout seemed light. Incumbent council member Gary Murphy, a Democrat, said he thought the turnout was noticeably heavy.

"Nice weather helps us," he said. "It brings out elderly voters, and in Montville, they are Democrats."

Dick Wilson, a Republican, is the District 4 moderator. He said a relatively light morning turnout was picking up this afternoon.

"It's a little higher than two years ago," he says, "and lower than four years ago."

Then, the most recent mayoral race, turnout was 39 percent. He was projecting a 34 percent turnout.

AT TOWN HALL, Jean Wittofske said traffic had been steady, and pretty strong. Hillcrest voters had turned out in particularly good numbers, she said.

Robin Siragusa, moderator, predicted a 35 percent turnout.

ALEX HAGGETT, now 21, started working on Election Day when she was 16.

It was a way to make a little extra money, and the work taught her a lot about the process, she said. 

It also taught her about patience. It's tough to stay in the same room, and be attentive and on the ball, for 14 hours straight - and that's what's required, she said.

Now, at 21, she is the assistant registrar, and she enjoys the work thoroughly.

TEMISTOCLES VALDES taught Spanish at Montville High School from 1969 to 2005. He'd been Jacobson's Spanish teacher, and had taken her class on a trip to Madrid. He and his wife, Bertha Daconte, were at Fair Oaks to vote for Jacobson and Dave Rowley, with whom he'd taught.

"We were young," he said, "and full of hair."

MAUREEN WOOD is the mother of Jim Wood, who, like Rowley, is running for a seat on the Board of Education.

Wood is proud of her son, and the job he's done on the Board. People should vote for him, she said. "because he loves working for the children, and he feels he got a good education here."

MAYOR JOE JASKIEWICZ showed up at Fair Oaks while Courtney and Rep. Tom Ryan were there. He was glad to hear the Democrats' view that the turnout was strong.

"A good turnout means change," Jaskiewicz said.