Large local turnout backs winners

Democrats have a big day

By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
   With the exception of the local congressional race, the large number of voters who turned out this week in East Windsor and Hightstown picked all the winners in the general election.
   And riding on the wave of support for now-President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats who retained control of both houses of Congress, the county Democrats up for sheriff and freeholder also swept their respective races.
   As expected, turnout for the election reached apparently record levels with East Windsor, Hightstown and Mercer County as a whole seeing more than two-thirds of registered voters coming to the polls.
   ”It was wonderful to see such a high turnout this year,” said Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello. “We knew it was going to be an historic election because of the high number of absentee ballots we’d been receiving.”
   Those absentee ballots, she said, numbered 12,887, nearly double the 7,125 cast during 2004’s presidential election.
   Seventy percent of registered voters in East Windsor went to the polls, with 10,773 votes cast. Hightstown was nominally higher at 71 percent, with 2,086 votes cast.
   In 2004, East Windsor saw 10,130 voters and Hightstown, 1,949, but this year’s figures don’t yet include absentee and provisional ballots.
   Despite the large turnout, Mercer County Superintendent of Elections Bettye Monroe said she thought things went smoothly. While acknowledging there were several complaints from residents who weren’t on voter rolls, she said most of those people were allowed to vote with provisional ballots.
   According to unofficial results from the county, Kevin Larkin kept his position as county sheriff, getting 63 percent of the vote, or 82,786 ballots.
   In East Windsor, according to unofficial results, he also received 63 percent (5,931). In Hightstown, unofficially, Mr. Larkin got 60 percent (1,101).
   His opponent, retired State Police Capt. James McSorley, received 3,496 votes in East Windsor and 722 in Hightstown. He received 49,549 votes overall.
   Democrats also filled all of the open seats on the county Board of Chosen Freeholders. For the two seats that were up for grabs because the terms had expired, Chairwoman Lucy Walter and County Municipal Utilities Authority Chairman John Cimino won countywide with 39 percent (87,065) and 41 percent (92,300) respectively.
   The Republican in the race, Thomas White, a service manager for a Best Buy store, came in last with 20 percent of the vote (44,978).
   Those percentages were the same in East Windsor and Hightstown. In the township, Mr. Cimino received 6,482 votes, and Ms. Walter got 6,249 votes. Mr. White only received 3,422 votes.
   The other freeholder seat, recently vacated by Elizabeth Muoio, pitted her appointed replacement Democratic Freeholder Daniel Benson against financial advisor Cindy Randazzo. Mr. Benson won with 64 percent (80,867) of the vote.
   That percentage was also mirrored locally with Mr. Benson getting 5,823 votes in the township and 1,083 in the borough. Ms. Randazzo received 3,450 votes in East Windsor and 677 in Hightstown.
   And in the race for the White House, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won handily in both municipalities.
   In East Windsor, Mr. Obama captured 67 percent of the vote (7,133). The margin was the same in Hightstown, with Mr. Obama garnering 1,393 votes.
   His opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, received 3,432 votes in East Windsor, and 645 in Hightstown.
   That result is well above statewide and national popular percentages where Mr. Obama is projected to win by about 58 percent (2.1 million) of the vote in New Jersey and by 52 percent (63.5 million) of the popular vote nationwide.
   As for the U.S. congressional races, both communities played a part in securing continued Democratic control of the U.S. Senate by contributing to the re-election of Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
   Sen. Lautenberg grabbed 56 percent (6,063) of the vote in East Windsor. His percent result in Hightstown was higher at 60 percent (1,146).Former U.S. Congressman Dick Zimmer only received 3,598 votes in East Windsor and 735 votes in Hightstown.
   East Windsor mirrored the state result where 56 percent (1.8 million) of the popular vote went to Sen. Lautenberg.
   However, in the lower House race, college instructor Joshua Zeitz of Bordentown was not able to defeat longtime Congressman Chris Smith for his 4th District seat, despite winning slim local majorities.
   Mr. Zeitz garnered 52 percent (5,080) of the vote in East Windsor. And in Hightstown he barely eked out 50.1 percent (971). Mr. Zeitz only received 21 more votes than Mr. Smith.
   Mr. Smith received 4,675 votes in East Windsor and 950 votes in Hightstown.
   Nonetheless, Democrats do retain control of the House of Representatives.
   As for the two ballot questions for amendments to the state constitution, a majority of locals agreed with voters from the rest of the state.
   The local polls favored the first, which would require voter approval before the state could borrow money by floating certain types of bonds, by 58 percent (4,350) in East Windsor and another 58 percent (801) in Hightstown. Statewide, voters approved the measure by 57 percent (1.2 million).
   The second, which would change the rules by which municipal judges are selected, from those in the state constitution to local statute, was rejected in East Windsor by 53 percent (3,936) and by 51 percent (691) in Hightstown. The state tally was a bit higher with 55 percent (1.1 million) rejecting the notion.