NORTHAMPTON — The Halloween spirit was alive in City Hall as early voters stopped by in their best October styles on Wednesday.
City Clerk Pamela L. Powers said that City Hall has seen around 170 early voters per day, which rose to about 300 voters on Tuesday. On Wednesday by 3:30 p.m., 217 voters had already cast ballots with an hour of voting remaining.
“I think people are realizing that their last chance to early vote is going to be later this week,” Powers said.
Joseph Pion, a constable at the polls, said that he has also noticed early voting “is definitely picking up as it comes closer to Nov. 6.” Pion added that he saw about 10 people in costume on Wednesday morning, with voters dressed as witches, a character from “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Wonder Woman.
But Wonder Woman wasn’t the only superhero to make an appearance at City Hall this Halloween. Kate Glynn, owner of the Northampton toy store A Child’s Garden, arrived to vote in her own original superhero costume.
Her superpower? Voting.
The outfit is part of a couple’s costume with her dog, Freddy, Glynn said, adding that her pet was her “mild-mannered counterpart.”
“I really like doing couple’s costumes with my dog … and then I realized that I was going to vote today, and I realized, that’s my superpower,” Glynn said.
Glynn added that voting is everyone’s “hidden superpower.”
“It is a message I feel very strongly about … I don’t have to agree with you, but you do have to participate,” she said.
Powers said she also noticed several people in costume at the polls, adding, “It’s kind of fun having early voting on Halloween.”
Early voting hasn’t been as busy as it was during the 2016 presidential election, Powers said, but turnout has remained steady this year. She anticipates around 2,000 to 2,500 residents will have voted early by the end of the period, compared to about 6,000 early voters in 2016.
“We encourage people to come in,” Powers said. “We have people, staff here to help us with that whole process, so we want to make sure we keep them busy and that people exercise their right to vote.”
It’s not too late to early vote — polls will remain open Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. Powers encourages those who miss the early voting window to make the effort to get out to the polls on Election Day.
A complete list of early voting hours by town are available on the Gazette website.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.