Lines were long and clerks kept busy on Election Day Tuesday, as turnout was high around the region.

Rindge Moderator Kirk Stenersen said on Tuesday afternoon that voting had been steadily busy all day.

“It’s been an excellent turnout,” Stenersen said. “If we keep at this pace, it will be a record turnout for Rindge.”

By the end of the day, a total of 3,784 votes had been cast in Rindge, including 284 absentee ballots. Rindge was one of several towns that followed procedure to begin processing absentee ballots two hours after the opening of polls – without additional notice, processing can legally begin at 1 p.m. – to handle the high volume.

Another town that took that approach was New Ipswich, which processed 211 absentee votes over six hours. Moderator Bob Romeril said both absentee ballots and new registrations were high this year, with election officials processing hundreds of both, as well as thousands of already-registered voters.

“People have been voting quickly – they seem to know what they want,” Romeril said. “We’ve seen a range – young people voting for the first time, people in their 60s voting for the first time. People are motivated.”

A total of 3,309 votes were cast in New Ipswich, easily surpassing the 2,141 in 2020 and 2,859 in 2016, Romeril said.

Shane Sirois, campaigning successfully for reelection for state representative for Hillsborough District 32 in New Ipswich, said he was bolstered by the number of voters he saw coming through.

“It’s that way nationwide,” Sirois said. “It’s an important election.”

In Rindge, Deni Dickler, a Democratic candidate for state representative, said she was also seeing a high turnout, including young voters.

“They seem to be highly engaged. Win or lose, there’s been so much engagement, and so many people talking to each other about the issues, and that’s a strength,” Dickler said.

In Bennington, Gary Hobaica was holding signs for Republican candidates for state representative.

“I love seeing people show up and a part of the process. It’s a beautiful thing to see that,” Hobaica said.

Supervisor of the Checklist Walter Turner, who has been an election official in Bennington since 1994, said that as of noon, Bennington had seen about 40 new voters.

“We had a big rush at 8 a.m. and it has been steady all day,” he said. “As of now we are at about 959 voters (on the checklist), which is a good turnout for Bennington.”

A total of 900 ballots were cast in Bennington.

’I have never seen anything like that’

Antrim Town Hall was busy all day, with many new voter registrations.

“We have had 1,012 voters come through, and it’s not even halftime,” volunteer Tim Morehouse said at around 1:30 p.m.

“In the beginning, there as a line all the way down the stairs, all the way through the Town Hall, out the door and around the block,” said volunteer Helene Newbold. “I have never seen anything like that.”

Morehouse said the atmosphere in Antrim was calm.

“Many of all know each other from Lions Club or serving on different committees in town and we respect one another, so it has been fine today,” Morehouse said. “That’s how it should be.”

In Francestown, volunteer Kevin Pobst said the Meetinghouse had seen a morning rush and been steady all day.

“It’s been peaceful,” he said.

A total of 1,826 ballots were cast in Francestown.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” said Rita Bruder, a greeter at the polls in Hancock. Outside the town’s elementary school, Gary Klar, another greeter, echoed this point.

“People have been very orderly and respectful,” he said.

Exiting Hancock Elementary School, Kate Shaffer explained her vote for president.

“I was a lifelong Republican until 2016,” she said. “(Donald) Trump was my breaking point. I voted straight blue.”

Werner Kanner of Hancock emigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1950s, and voted for Kamala Harris. “Trump’s comments about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue years ago did it for me.”

In Dublin, John Lawlor said, “Solid red,” when asked about his ballot. Nearby, Nancy Cayford held signs for Democratic candidates.

“I believe in democracy,” she said.

Wilton Select Board member Kermit Williams estimated that voter participation in his town could reach 90%.

“We’re well past 1,000, and have 2,800 people on the rolls,” he said just before 1 p.m.

Outside the Wilton Town Hall, Republican State Sen. Jim Kofalt and Democratic House aspirant Michael Pellerito peacefully coexisted under an unseasonably warm November sun. Chief of Police Eric Olesen pointed to a spot 200 feet from the Town Hall entrance.

“People were lined up back to there at 7 a.m,” he said.

Cooper Redding cast his first vote in New Hampshire in Temple Tuesday. He explained his decision in the context of his former job as a police officer in Memphis.

“He created riots,” he said, referring to Trump’s rhetoric. “I had to work those riots. I voted for change.”

Sharon Select Board member Rich Dufresne mentioned seeing some new faces at the polls this time.

“Lots of new registered voters,” he said.

After voting , Kristina Aho said she voted Republican. Asked about the gubernatorial choice, she said. “I like Kelly Ayotte’s values.”

Don Burgess of Sharon said Gov. Chris Sununu’s words mattered to him when he voted for Ayotte.

“I liked Sununu, and he recommended her,” he said.

At the Peterborough Community Center, Holly Allen said she got in line at 9 a.m. and didn’t leave after voting until 10:30.

Outside the Peterborough polls after darkness had fallen, Kathy Schongar said she was out at 6:45 a.m.

“The lines were out to the street in the morning,” she said.

Schongar and state representative candidate Kimberly Thomas suggested that a large cluster of voters with names in the early part of the alphabet contributed to a long line for the A-C check-in table.

Greenfield voters voted at Greenfield Elementary School due to construction scheduled for the Meetinghouse. Supervisor of the Checklist Kathy Seigars said traffic had been steady all day. Supervisor Ellen Sanford noted that Greenfield had a lot of new registrations which had not yet been tallied yet as of around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Greenfield’s final voter tally was 1,093.

Peterborough’s morning voting rush extended down the block in front of the Peterborough Community Center.

“We had lines out the door all day long. We really didn’t have a lull until now, probably because it is school pickup time,” volunteer Lisa Stone said at around 2:30 p.m.

State Rep. Jonah Wheeler, who won reelection, said he was pleased to see the large turnout.

“We’ll see how it all shakes out,” he said.

Town Clerk Linda Guyette reported that of Peterborough’s 5,701 registered voters, 4,397 voted, with a 77.13% voter turnout.

David Allen, Jesseca Timmons and Ashley Saari contributed to this report.