Voter turnout looks big in Newton

[tn3270]

Got back from voting here in Newton MA a few minutes ago. Being an early riser, I tend to hit the polls when they open at 7:00. I have been living here since 1996 and this is the busiest I have seen it by far. Usually for the early folks, there is no wait or perhaps 4 or 5 people ahead in line. Today, the line was out of the building and I had to wait for over ten minutes, which I have never seen here. In addition, the street was full of cars, and I saw lots more folks walking and driving towards the poll as I left.

Also, Newton has gotten rid of the clunky (maybe antique?), hole punch voting machines. We did a simple fill in the circle ballot, which at least to me looks more secure, and less prone to tampering or counting mistakes.