Thomas Breen photo
Mayor Elicker, with daughter April, casting his vote at Wilbur Cross.
Mayor Justin Elicker voted in person, including for the Democrat who currently helms the city’s voting process, as he and his family turned out to Wilbur Cross High School Election Day morning.
Elicker, joined by his wife Natalie and his two daughters April and Molly, voted at the East Rock high school just after 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.
On a morning that has seen high turnout across the city so far, the mayor’s vote was the 563rd cast at Wilbur Cross since polls opened at 6 a.m., according to the ballot tabulator stationed along a wall a dozen feet away from a handful of socially distanced privacy booths.
Inside Wilbur Cross’s polling place.
The mayor said that he decided to show up in person for Election Day rather than vote by mail in advance for two primary reasons.
“I just love Election Day and the energy that’s felt with people standing outside the polls, thanking people inside the polls,” and filling out the bubbles on the ballot in person and sliding that ballot into the machine.
He said he also wanted to “underscore to New Haven residents just how much work the registrar of voters and our side have done to make sure that polling places are safe.”
Poll workers stood or sat six feet apart. Everyone within view was wearing a mask. There was ample hand sanitizer. Every voter got to keep his or her pen, which they were the first to use.
“I think it’s important for me to come out and make a statement that polling places are safe, and that my family and I voted in person.”
East Rock Alder Anna Festa greets the Elickers outside Wilbur Cross.
In that vein, Elicker said he cast his vote in the hotly contested local registrar of voters race for Democratic incumbent Shannel Evans. (She is one of four candidates on the ballot, though, because of state law, she and Republican incumbent Marlene Napolitano legally cannot lose. The open question is whether a third-party candidate can come in second place and thus be added to the office.)
Elicker said he knows well and respects Working Families Party candidate Sergio Rodriguez. But ultimately, he voted Democrat because of the work he has seen Evans put in to making this year’s election a safe and accessible one.
“Our team has worked very closely with Shannel to make sure this election goes smoothly,” he said, “and she’s been a good partner. I think overall, things have been going well” this election, especially given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nauseated With Fear And Anxiety”
While the mayor had some words to say about the local registrar of voters race, every other voter the Independent spoke to at Wilbur Cross Tuesday morning said they came out to the polls primarily — if not exclusively — because of the presidential race at the top of the ticket.
“I just want people to be together again,” said Ashley Baez (pictured at right), who came to the polls with her mother, Magda. Both voted for the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“America deserves better” than Republican President Donald Trump, Magda said.
“We deserve better,” added Ashley. They both said they voted Democrat all down the line.
As for why she voted in person vs. absentee, Ashley said, “I just wanted to make sure my vote was counted.”
Kimberly Jannarone and Erik Butler (pictured) also voted in person Tuesday out of a superabundance of caution around mail-in voting.
“I wasn’t afraid of getting corona from today,” said Jannarone. “And if I could do it in person, it seemed better than clogging up the postal service.”
Both said they voted for Biden-Harris over Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“I am nauseated with fear and anxiety that Trump will be president again,” Jannarone said.
She said she and Butler moved from California to New Haven in the summer of 2019, and were very impressed with Harris as their U.S. Senator when they lived on the West Coast.
“We’re on a cusp,” Jannarone said about this country. “Democracy is being threatened.”
Butler said he fully expects this year’s presidential election to end up in the hands of lawyers and federal courts.
As for why he voted in person, “I figured the most direct participation is the one least likely to be hobbled.”
Lester and Marion Brewer (pictured) did not share whom they voted for at the polls. Instead, they stressed how important it was for them to vote in person this election.
“I liked it. I’m used to it,” said Marion. “I like the spirit.” Both said they felt safe voting.
Greyza Barrios (pictured above with Angel Maldonado) also pointed to her values rather than any candidates when she talked about her trip to the polls Tuesday.
She said schools, the economy, and the Bible are her biggest concerns.
“I think it’s good for everyone,” she said about the Bible.
And Republican Congressional candidate Margaret Streicker (pictured at center), who is challenging longtime incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro for the Third District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, said during a 20-minute stop at Wilbur Cross that she’s feeling optimistic about a high turnout across the district today.
“I think it’s a good thing for democracy,” she said.
Standing alongside Streicker, Republican state representative challenger Eric Mastroianni, Sr. urged voters to put aside party loyalty when casting their ballots today.
“Make the conscious decision to vote, not based on party, but on what [the candidate] will do to make your life better.”
Watch below for an interview with the mayor after he voted.
