NORTHAMPTON — Few voters visited the polls by midday Thursday to vote in the city-wide election for a new at-large city councilor, according to City Clerk Wendy Mazza.
Candidates Ryan O’Donnell and Marlene A. Morin are vying for the seat vacated by Jesse Adams in May.
Every precinct in the city opened for voting at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. According to Mazza, precinct 1B saw the most voters by 10 a.m. with 58 ballots cast.
Mazza said she hopes voting will pick up at the end of the work day Thursday.
“Otherwise, it’s pretty dismal,” Mazza said.
O’Donnell and Morin were the top vote-getters in a preliminary election July 7. Only 10.3 percent, or 2,090 of the city’s 20,423 registered voters cast ballots last month.
O’Donnell received 1,444 votes and Morin received 307 votes. Candidates Andrew B. Smith and Blue DuVal were eliminated in the preliminary election, receiving 216 votes and 104 votes, respectively.
As of 9:45 a.m., precinct 2A had 44 votes; 2B had 12 votes, 5B had 3 votes and 7A had 44 votes. As of 10 a.m., 1A had 29 votes, 3A had 44 votes and 3B had 35 votes, according to Mazza.
Additionally, 114 absentee ballots were cast at the city clerk’s office in the days leading up to the election. Mazza said 203 absentee ballots were mailed out, and 87 ballots were returned to the office.
Mazza told the Gazette last month that the July 7 election cycle cost the city $20,524.04. She expects today’s election to cost roughly the same amount, bringing the special election total cost to $40,000.