Starting at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday voters lined up outside City Hall to vote in-person. The line wound through the parking lot, up the stairs, and into the Council Chambers where by noon, 245 Warwick residents had cast their ballots on the first day of early voting.

Voters in line, both young and old, had a variety of reasons for voting. “I’m not worried about voting in person, so why not. This election is more important than ever,” said one voter waiting to cast his ballot.

When asked why she’s voting in-person instead of mailing in her ballot, another resident said simply, “Practicality.”

Voting is well under way this election season. The first mail-in ballots were sent out on Oct. 5th and by Oct. 9th, 70 had already been returned to City Hall. By the 13th, that number had jumped with 764 mail-in ballots deposited at the official Board of Canvassers ballot box in the City Hall parking lot over the long weekend.

Dorothy McCarthy, the Director of the Warwick Board of Canvassers, encourages voters to drop off their mail-in ballots in the official ballot box, especially if they don’t feel secure sending their ballots in the mail, which is a common theme she’s found among voters.

She also expressed her overwhelm as she sifted through the teetering stack of poll worker applications and schedules. “People really came out of the woodwork to work the polls.” With 27 polling locations to be open on Election Day, and 325 to 350 poll workers staffed across the city, McCarthy emphasized that this is no small operation.

Early voting is available to all residents starting yesterday and continuing until Nov. 2nd. Voters can stop by City Hall Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, to cast their ballot.