Parsippany Turns Out for Election Day

Parsippany's general election seems to be a busy one all over town.

The polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and Municipal Clerk Yancy Wazirmas told Patch this morning that a "steady stream" of voters were turning up throughout the township.

On the ballots: candidates for president, U.S. House and Senate seats, a District 26 General Assembly seat, Morris County freeholder, a seat on the Parsippany Township Council and three Board of Education seats.

At the Mt. Tabor Volunteer Fire Department's Powder Mill firehouse, Wazirmas' description was borne out, as Patch witnessed a lot of activity.

One of the voters we met there, Ian Arthur, came to cast his ballot accompanied by his daughter Katharine, a third grader at Mt. Tabor School.

"I'm voting for the future," he said, though he added that he brought his child along because schools were still closed due to the storm.

Allana Fowlie, a student at William Paterson University, women's issues informed her vote at the firehouse. 

"And as a college student, the ballot questions were really important to me," she said, referring to the question asking voters to allocate $750 million for university improvements.

Also at Powder Mill firehouse were voters Marie Berry and Barbara Brodie, who arrived together.

"The economy and education are the issues I'm thinking about," said Berry. "May the best man win!"

A little less busy was Patch's afternoon stop at Knollwood School. We did encounter two voters as they headed out of the elementary school.

Dan Zalewski and his mother Stella were on hand to represent what he called "the few Democrats" in Lake Hiawatha.

"We're here to make sure President Obama gets re-elected," he said.

Later in the afternoon, we found the polling place at Town Hall doing a very brisk business. 

We spoke with Municipal Clerk Wazirmas in late afternoon.

"All polling locations are very busy," she said.

Wazirmas said he was unaware of any  problems at the polls beyond confusion experienced by some voters who because of Sandy had to vote in unfamiliar locations.

The clerk also noted that poll workers allowed displaced Parsippany residents to have "provisional ballots allowing them to vote as instructed."

Have you voted? Tell us about your experiences in comments. And if you haven't yet cast your ballot, you have until 8 p.m.