Longer hours cause confusion at polling place

Poll workers at Winthrop School in Bridgeport waited for about 15 minutes after 8 p.m. for word on whether the voting hours had officially been extended until 10 p.m. As they waited, a few voters gathered outside, in case the doors re-opened.

Winthrop was one of several polling places that had a ballot shortage earlier in the day, but, around 8 p.m., there were no long lines of voters who had previously been turned away.

Still, once the workers officially heard the hours had been extended and re-opened there doors, some late voters did trickle in — many of the disenchanted with the day’s ballot snafus.

Bridgeport resident Doug Hummel was one of the after-8 voters at Winthrop, and called the whole situation “ridiculous.” He said it’s unthinkable that so many places had ballot shortages, and even the extended voting hours couldn’t totally make up for it.

“It’s not nearly enough,” he said.

Amanda Cuda