New Haven Independent

Early returns showed Democratic President-elect Barack Obama piling up totals as high as 88 percent in New Haven’s voting precincts Tuesday. Democrats also swept state legislative races, and New Haveners joined the state in soundly rejected a constitutional convention ballot question aimed at overturning gay marriage.

Statewide, Obama captured 60 percent of the vote. Early returns put him above 85 percent in New Haven.

New Haveners started lining up as early as 5:30 a.m. for polls that saw lines with waits as long as one or two hours. (Click here to read about that.)

After the polls closed, Democrats jammed the Playwright on Temple Street for a jubilant party. (Click on the play arrow to see a sample, starring Fair Haven Alderwoman Migdalia Castro, who helped pull out what were believed to be the highest voting totals in decades in her neighborhood.) The NAACP partied around the corner at Hula Hanks, and reflected on the civil rights organization’s role under the country’s first black president; click here for Allan Appel’s report.

Rosa DeLauro coasted to victory for a tenth term in Congress, where she’ll have increased agenda-setting influence; click here for Thomas MacMillan’s report. And New Haven has a new state representative: Gary Holder-Winfield. Holder-Winfield captured an open seat in the 94th General Assembly District in the only New Haven state legislative race with any visible signs of competition. Click here to read Melissa Bailey’s report on that race.

The Playwright’s rooms were stacked up with party faithful, hangers-on and anyone else who could walk through the door. There was even a person in a moose suit, carrying a sign proclaiming that moose were for Sen. Barack Obama.

The scene was chaos, until it really got carried away when the many flat screens proclaimed that their national treasure, Obama, had reached the magic number of 270. The scene then calmed down to a mild riot until the television proclaimed that Democrat Jim Himes had made it a clean sweep by defeating U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, who had been the only Republican in the state’s House delegation in Washington.

Then it really got going.

By about 10:30, however, with no more worlds to conquer and the specter of a work day on Wednesday, they left in threes and fours and dozens, until the place was only crowded.

Early Results

Obama captured a full 88 percent at Wilbur Cross High School, Ward 10’s voting spot — with 1,544 votes. McCain took 186 votes, independent Ralph Nader 18.

The liberal ward also gave a resounding thumbs-down to a ballot question that would pave the way for a constitutional convention, in which organizers would hope to overturn a recent State Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage: 1,276 voters filled in the “no” oval, while 320 voted “yes.”

Given the long lines and hour-long waits at the polls Tuesday morning, moderators expected that voting might take place as late as 10 p.m. in some districts, as people who arrived at 8 p.m. waited their turns in long lines.

Instead, high-voting wards like Westville’s 25 and East Rock’s 10 were shut down right at 8 p.m. as usual. No one was waiting to vote. Nor was anyone waiting in Fair Haven — although turnouts reached an unusually high 50 percent. (Pictured: Christine Hilton tallies votes in Ward 21.)

“Everyone who would normally come late came early instead,” said Ward 25 poll watcher Sheila Murphy.

There was a line of some 75 voters still waiting to vote in Ward 12, at the Ross Woodward School, at 8 p.m. The final voter completed the job a little after 9 p.m. Up to a dozen sites did see some levers pulled after 8 p.m. because of some overflow.

In part because of the late closings, city registrars still hadn’t tallied official votes by midnight.

Some unofficial results Tuesday night:

Ward 3: Obama 672, McCain 33, Nader 3.

Ward 4: Obama 1,294, McCain 99, Nader 3. Congress: DeLauro 1,155, ItsHaky 50, Ferrucci 11.

Ward 7: Obama 1,247, McCain 136, Nader 15. Congress: DeLauro 1,116, ItsHaky 99, Ferrucci 59. Registrar of Voters: Ferrucci 959, Tramontano 120, Pillsbury 98. Question 1: Yes 392, No 775. Question 2: Yes 848, No 288. State Senate: Harp 375, Papantones 33. State Rep.: Holder-Winfield 688, Greene 50.

Ward 9 (East Rock): President: Obama 1,420, McCain 174, Nader 20. Question 1: 260 yes, 1,227 no. Congress: DeLauro 1,318, ItzHaky 116, Ferrucci 93.

Ward 19, District 1: President: Obama 539, McCain 42.
Ward 19, District 2: President: Obama 695, McCain 79, Nader 8.

Ward 25: President: Obama 1,629, McCain 283, Nader 22.

Melissa Bailey, Len Honeyman, Sue Honeyman, Caroline Berson, Thomas MacMillan, and Sarah Bass contributed to this story.