With 10 minutes to go before polls close, several New Haven residents were still in line to just register to vote and did not get to their polling places.
In 2014, about 100 people in New Haven waited until the last minute to register and never got to vote because they were still waiting in long lines to register when the polls closed.
"It's important for people who are coming in to try to register at the last moment on election day, you must be registered to vote by 8 o clock, doesn't count to just stand in line, and I can't say that often enough because that's some of what happened down there," said Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.
The 2012 presidential election saw just under 45,000 in person voters in New Haven and more could turn out Tuesday in this general election with no incumbent.
There have been long lines throughout New Haven to register and to vote. At Wilbur Cross High School there were long lines when the polls opened at 6 a.m., but everything appeared to be moving smoothly.
At the Hall of Records the line stretched out the building and around the corner and some voters waited about an hour and a half just to get inside the building.
The SOTS and workers in New Haven said they prepared for those lines, ready to hand out voter cards to residents to help lessen the time they spend waiting.
The registrar's office said just about ever polling place in New Haven has needed a new batch of ballots because they were busier than expected.
At one point this morning, the Hall of Records ran out of "I Voted" stickers.
Unregistered voters have been registering at City Hall before proceeding to their polling place to cast a vote. With less than 10 minutes to go before the polls close, people were still in line to register to vote.
Voters must be in line at their polling location by 8 p.m. in order to vote – being in line to register will not count.
Mayor Toni Harp urged voters to register in advance to avoid this very issue.
