Belmont Voting Brisk in Special Election

Despite the 90 degree temperature, Andrew Schwartz of Douglas Road took his bike to Precinct 2 to cast his ballot in the Special Election for US Senate.

"Even though the term is only for 17 months, it's still important," said Schwartz who there has been plenty of publicity for the race betweenDemocrat US Rep. Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez. 

Schwartz was part of a steady stream of voters entering into the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library around 12:45 p.m. election day, Tuesday, June 25.

By 12:45 p.m., 478 voters had cast ballots at the library. 

While in no way the level seen in November when resident Mitt Romney ran for president, Belmont voters are turning out at healthy numbers as of early afternoon, according to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman and visits to precincts.

"It's been brisk," said Precinct 2 Captain Henry Kazarian at Belmont Town Hall as 396 ballots were cast by 12:30 p.m. 

So far, Belmont appears to have a healthy level of voter interest in a race that the Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin was predicting would be the lowest for a U.S. Senate election in four decades, with only 37 percent of voters casting ballots. 

Cushman said she could tell there was interest in the race by the number of absentee ballots submitted to her office. As of Monday at noon when absentee voting ended, 661 residents had cast a ballot, said Cushman. 

In a similar special election in Belmont – also held in June – in which voters approved a debt exclusion to build the Wellington Elementary School, 487 residents voted absentee in an election that saw 39 percent of voters casting ballots. 

"I looked at the totals and I'm glad to know that turn out was so strong especially at midday," said Schwartz who proceeded to retrieve his helmet after casting his vote.