Westford Election Results 2012
Updates on the 2012 elections here in Westford will be posted throughout the day. Connect with us on Twitter too at #PatchElections and tell us what you see by tweeting @WestfordPatch and commenting on facebook.com/WestfordPatch.
Photos
Pdfs
If you need to find out where you vote -- find your street in the map above and click! That will show you the address of your polling place.
Share your photos and videos from Election Day by clicking the Upload Photos and Video button!
Also, tell us what've seen at the polls in the comments below: How long did you wait to vote today? Which candidate has the most visible presence among signholders? Join the conversation in the comments.
Key Races
Scott Brown (R), Elizabeth Warren (D): U.S. Senate
Scott Brown has represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate since a January 2010 special election held to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. Brown defeated state Attorney General Martha Coakley with 1,168,107 votes, or 51.9 percent, to her 1,058,682 votes, or 47.1 percent.
Niki Tsongas (D), Jon Golnik (R): Third Congressional District
Niki Tsongas has been representing PATCHTOWN since 2007, when she won a special election replace Marty Meehan, who resigned to Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
She faces off against Jon Golnik, a Republican from Carlisle.
In 2010, Tsongas defeated Golnik by a margin of 54 to 42 percent.
Jim Arciero (D), Val Wormell (R): Second Middlesex House District
Arciero has been in house since January 2009, following his victory over Littleton Republican Paul Avella, earning the chance to represent Littleton, Westford and Chelmsford precincts 5,7 and 9
He did not face an opponent in 2010. This year he faces Westford Selectman Val Wormell.
For other results from recent years and who else is on the ballot, please see the .pdfs attached to this article. To see where you vote, please check the map above and click on your street.
You can also get additional information from the Town Clerk section of Westford's town website
Updates
Polls open at 7 a.m. - We'll be at the polls throughout the day providing sporadic updates. If you hear anything from the polls, please let us know in the comments section! If you have a great photo, please share it with everyone by clicking on the "Upload Photos and Videos" button, and if you haven't already, sign up for our breaking news e-mails to find out what happens tonight.
Update 7:05 a.m. - There are dozens of voters at the Reilly School in Lowell, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas has just cast her vote there. We will try to get to Carlisle to get pictures of her challenger Jon Golnik if we have time.
10:00 a.m. - 711 voters at the Robinson School so far. What are you guys hearing around town? Tell us in the comments!
10:20 a.m. - 604 at the Blanchard School. Poll workers have said things have been very busy this morning.
10:40 a.m. - 751 at the Stony Brook School plus over 200 absentee ballots. We're hearing also that the Abbot School around 7:30 a.m. was averaging a voter a minute.
11:00 a.m. 756 at the Miller School, Nichole Janowsky just took some great photos! Blanchard was fairly quiet according to Julie Sprague on Facebook, but she also said a poll worker there had seen a line out the door at about 9:30.
11:45 a.m. - We're hearing from Donna Hackley that Precinct 1 has gotten 987 voters and Precinct 3 has gotten 967 so far.
Steady all morning, Precinct 1 Warden Judy Culver says there are also many first-time voters.
12:00 p.m. - The Abbot School was busy around noon according to Alicia Curtin Mallon, she was ballot #1012 in Precinct 3.
12:45 p.m. - Things are tapering off at the Abbot School, but approximately 2,300 voters there so far for both precincts combined.
1:00 p.m. - All quiet at Stony Brook, says Kim Potvin Liner!
3:00 p.m. - No wait reported at the Abbot and Stony Brook Schools.
6:46 p.m. - Still unclear what the final voter turnout will be, but it will be high regardless of how high. Lines have been steady but constant all day, some precincts have reported that they had more voters come in by lunch than they had all day in 2010.
Heading to the Abbot School now then maybe Miller, then Chelmsford and hitting up the candidates' parties.
7:12 p.m. - 2048 voters in Precinct 1, 2175 in Precinct 3. Lots of absentee ballots. It's going to be a long night.
End of Night - Final results are up on the town website, just over 80 percent turnout.
Tim Seiger
12:41 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
As of 12 noon, the Robinson school has seen 1044 voters. As of 12:10, the Blanchard school has had 883.
Donna Hackley
1:16 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Precinct 1 Warden Judy Culver reported that 987 voters had cast their ballots by 11:45am Tuesday. Warden Joe Lapiana reported 967 voters from Precinct 3 had cast their ballots just before noon. Both enthusiastically reported not only a steady flow of voters all morning but also a very high voter turnout at this point. Warden Culver was glad to see so many first time voters casting ballots in her precinct.
Sam
3:09 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
This is exactly why we need to get rid of Town Meeting
Andrew Sylvia
3:36 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Why's that, Tom?
westford resident
3:43 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I totally agree Tom. I wish i knew how to run with the issue and make it a reality!
Steve Cavanagh
10:42 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
My issue with Town Meeting is that it requires a substantial commitment of time, and that there are a lot of single issue voters that dominate a particular meeting because they are willing to spend the time. We are not a representative meeting.
Tim Seiger
3:21 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
When I voted at the Robinson school at 2:55, I was ballot number 1388.
Sam
4:49 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Because we have thousands deciding what happens instead of the straw hats and their 180 or so minions.
Tim Seiger
7:45 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
As of 7:15, turnout for Precinct 4 at the Robinson school was 76.8%, or 2061 voters.
At 7:25, Precinct 2 had 2094 voters, or 77.16 %.
Amber
9:59 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I was #996 not too long past 11am this morning.
Amber
10:00 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Oops, in P6.
Amber
10:01 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Tom, I agree. We should require ballot voting for expenses in excess of a specific dollar amount rather than leaving it to the <200 who are able to make it to ATM/STM.
Vicky Geary
6:55 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Not a bad idea but don't let this election turnout fool you. We are probably looking at a voter turnout for yesterday around 78-81% (it was approximately 79% in P4). In non-presidential election years, the turnout is significantly lower. I have worked as a closer for 8 years now and based solely on my experiences, for local ballots, we are only seeing a turnout of 10-20%. While I do think that is still more than town meeting turnout, I would also caution the rush to "lets put this to a ballot" mentality. The one advantage of town meeting is that there is discussion and the ability to get questions answered (most of the time) before casting a vote. So as painful as it is to sit through ATM/STM, there is a positive aspect to it. I just wish the voters of this town were as passionate about voting and coming to ATM/STM as they were about this presidential election.
westford resident
8:21 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Vicky,
IMO there is more interest by our residents in our town's meeting than some of the elections. Unfortunately, It isn't painful but impossible to go for many of us.