Town Clerk Arrives at Work Before Daylight, Plans for 18 Hour Day

Town Clerk Claire Gray arrived at work shortly after 5 a.m. today with plans in place for an 18-hour day at the helm of town elections.

Normally seen by the public calling the roll at Town Council meetings and handling permits for residents, Gray's duties include serving as the town's chief elections officer. She oversees the polling places around town, being on call in case of problems at the various locations.

Gray said in the past most of the polling problems have been relatively minor, including the doors to the schools being locked when the polls open at 6 a.m. and other minor technical difficulties. In case of major contested issues, state judges are on call at the county courthouse in Elizabeth to settle disputes.

Tonight, Gray and her staff will spring into action, waiting for the results to come in townwide. Polling workers will bring copies of the returns to her office, where she and her staff will tabulate the results, sending the number to County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, who is the county's chief elections officer. Rajoppi is in charge of certifying the official winners of the election.

Gray expects, based on past elections, to be in the office until at least 11 p.m. tonight, as she also has to secure the official voting books and results from each election district in town. Gray is expected back in the office tomorrow, where she will be calling the roll at Wednesday night's Town Council meeting.