Election Day Running Journal: Hopatcong Voters Weigh in

Hopatcong has been sliced into 12 districts, with nine polling locations. I hit several spots throughout Election Day, trying to get a feel for voters' concerns.

I stopped by Hopatcong's building first, on the advice of borough clerk Lorraine Stark, who said it traditionally gets some of the most voter traffic. Then I went to Hopatcong's  and .

Update 10:02 a.m.: Arrived at the ambulance squad about a half-hour ago, and at least 15 people walked through the doors. Republican council candidate Mike Francis stopped by to cast his vote. He was voter No. 102 at the ambulance squad, according to officials.

Phillip Ryder, a 27-year Hopatcong resident, said he voted for "some Republicans, some Independants." He wasn't happy with the Obama administration's progress. "They haven't come through," Ryder said. "They have not come through at all." Ryder also didn't like what he called "dirty" campaigning on each side. "It's just far too many negative campaign ads, especially the national ones," he said. "Not necessarily the local ones. Both parties need to just cut back on the negative and the lying and the misrepresentation, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way."

Barbra Loring, who's been a permanent borough resident for seven years despite vacationing in Hopatcing since 1948, said she voted mostly Republican. "I mean, it was the lesser of two evils," she said. Loring said she wanted to see more bipartisianship. "There needs to be more togetherness if we're going to run this country the way it really needs to be run," she said. "Party lines are fine for certain things. But there needs to be more give and take if we're going to [recover]."

Update 10:33 a.m.: Poll worker Jack Quirk said he wanted to thank the ambulance squad for relocating. During the primaries, poll workers were stuck in the garage. Today they're in the warm living room.

The voters keep filing in. We're at 118 for this location. Seven-year borough resident Jacqueline Miranda said she voted "strictly" Democrat. "I'm really an Independent, but I think the Democrats are doing more than the Republicans," she said. "That's why I voted Democrat. It's the lesser of two evils. I think the Democrats stand for the people more than the Republicans." Miranda said she's on social security and has multiple sclerosis. She also said she didn't have trouble with the new voting machinese, which feature touch screens. "It's good. It was very good," Miranda said. When it came to Hopatcong's council election, which features three candidates running for two spots, Miranda said she voted for Independent Mara Modes and left the second spot open. Modes is running against two incumbent Republicans, Mike Francis and Howard Baker.

Update 11:54 a.m.: After spending about an hour inside the Hopatcong ambulance squad building, talking to voters outisde the structure, I was informed reporters must stay 100 feet from a poll location's enterance. So I spent the some time outside, in the parking lot, and spoke with Hopatcong residents Georgie McManus and Emery Hines.

McManus, a 44-year borough resident, said she voted in the Hopatcong council race for Republican candidate Mike Francis and Independant candidate Mara Modes. She said she knew of Francis, and that after reading a story on Modes, decided to vote for her because she "thought we could use a little shakeup."

"I think we need a shakeup all over," McManus said. "Our politics are scary. They really are. I feel so bad for the next generation. It's like if you've got money, you're in."

Hines, who's lived in Hopatcong for 40 years, said he voted Republican "straight through." He said he wanted the borough's property tax to stop rising. "If it keeps going up, I'm going to have to move, and I don't want to do that," he said. "I like where I live. I've been here a long time, and I've liked it a long time."

Modes also stopped in to vote. Also, poll workers made sure to clear election signs within 100 feet of the ambulance squad's front door, as per county rules. But someone stuck one of Mitch Ellicot's signs near the property while the workers were inside. It was quickly removed. Ellicot is the Independent candidate for the Sussex County Sheriff's Office. He's running agianst Republican candidate Mike Strada.

OK. Lunch time. I'll head to another polling location soon.

Update 3:12 p.m.: Sorry for the delay. Needed to find a place with wireless Internet access. Hello, Hopatcong's .

Anyway, I drove to the Civic Center and spoke with Ed and Maribeth Weber, a married couple who has lived in Hopatcong for 36 years. Ed said he voted in the council election for "one of the Republicans and an Independent," but his wife didn't want to get into specifics. Ed said echoed a common theme: a worry over property taxes. "The thing that hurts is that you can't retire in your own house," Ed said. "New Jersey's very expensive. And even in a downturn, taxes are going up. And that's ridiculous." Maribeth said although they raised their family in the borough, they planned on retiring in Virginia Beach, Va. "Our kids went through school here," she said. "Our daughter taught here. We're embedded here, but we're getting out of here soon."

Update: 5:10 p.m.: Hung outside of Hopatcong Fire Department No. 3 for a little while. Then it got cold, and I ran.

But while I was there, I had a chance to speak with Drew Daly, a six-year Hopatcong resident who doesn't believe in a two-party system.

"The only way to make a change in the United States is to have a non-Democrat or Republican in office," he said.

Daly also doesn't like "how New Jersey has done things in the past," he said. "They're taking funds to pay off different funds. … And I find that kind of ridiculous because it's something—we created a fund to suit a specific purpose. By taking out money out of that fund to use it for a different purpose defeats the purpose of having that fund in the first place."

Daly wasn't a fan of the voting booth, which uses a touch screen

"Don't like it at all," he said. "There's no paper trail. I don't believe in electronic machines. Too much gray area, there's no way to back up who voted each way."