Parsippany General Election Day Off to Busy Start

Election Day is finally here, and despite Sandy's winds and rain and the loss it left behind, it appears residents are anxious to have their say at the ballot box.

Asked how her first Parsippany election since coming to town was going, Municipal Clerk Yancy Wazirmas said that things were hectic.

"It's been busy," she said. "We had a line at [5:45 a.m.] before the polls opened."

Wazirmas has had to preside over an election process hampered by the superstorm. Several Parsippany polling places were put out of commission—for example, Lake Hiawatha School suffered serious roof damage—so balloting sites were consolidated, and even Town Hall is hosting voters.

Despite the storm and national predictions of low turnout in areas hard hit by Sandy, the Par-Troy clerk thinks otherwise.

"I expect the polls to be busy," she said. "People are determined to vote. This is a big and important election."

Wazirmas said she would do her tallying work in the morning, noting that Parsippany vote totals will be sent via computer memory cards, directly to Joan Bramhall, the Morris County Clerk. She said Morristown is where the official vote count will take place and where all the paper ballots —absentee, provisional—will e counted.

In the meantime, the Parsippany clerk said she is preparing to tour all the polling sites to ensure that everything is operating smoothly and to take action if something isn't.

"It's hectic, but under control," Wazirmas said.