A Peaceful Day at the Polls in Norristown

Having been up since 5am this morning, I find myself craving caffeine and have ducked into the East Norriton Starbucks to sate said urge. I'm also taking advantage of the free WiFi to update everyone on the goings on at the polls so far today. To be honest, there's not much to tell.

If you were expecting short fuses, impassioned partisans bickering by the doors and voting machine malfunctions you are going to be sadly disappointed. In fact, the poll workers and voters I've encountered so far today are positively chipper. They're enjoying their jobs and taking the opportunity to chat with their neighbors over coffee and a donut.

Candidates and office-holders staking out the polls are swapping stories and cheerfully introducing themselves to constituents. Councilwoman Mimi DeSouza was even treating voters who turned up at to a free breakfast. The two candidates in the most hotly contested race in Norristown ( – both vying for the at-large council seat being vacated by Bill Procyson) were all smiles and friendly words when I found them at this morning.

Even the machines are cooperating. No complaints to be heard at any polling place in Norristown, and a quick call to Montgomery County Voter Services found the crew there enjoying a surprisingly lazy day. Not a complaint lodged so far according to everyone I spoke with.

According to a story in The Times Herald today, Montco District Attorney Risa Ferman's office has put together a team of prosecutors to respond to election day complaints. The team is charged with making sure the polling stations are safe and no undue influence or intimidation is taking place, though team leader Deputy DA Christopher Maloney told The Herald, “I don’t recall any instances of voter fraud in the immediate past and the entire time I’ve been here." According to The Herald, the assigned prosecutors can be reached through county radio at 610-275-1222.

By midday, most of the polling places were reporting voter turnouts in the 100-150 range, pretty much expected in an off-year election, though the Montgomery County Commissioners' race is a possibly historic one. There's a chance for Democrats to take majority control of the board for the first time in the county's history.

The only real excitement so far today was a shortly before 9:30am, but the Norristown Fire Department had secured the scene within minutes and no damage or injuries were reported.

I'll be checking in with the polls again this evening when things are expected to pick up and I'll be up all night waiting to report results to you as they come in.

If you'd like to get that news before most other folks, you might want to like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. I'll be posting the results there as I get them in real time before I write up the full report to post here on Norristown Patch.

If you're out at the polls and you see something that needs reporting, don't hesitate to contact me at 610-308-9881 or james.myers@patch.com.