HOOKSETT - The Hooksett polls at the David R. Cawley Middle School saw a surge of voters in the early morning Tuesday, with the stream holding steady throughout the day.

“It's been extremely steady,” said deputy town clerk Billie Hebert, for whom Tuesday was her first election as clerk. “We probably had maybe 200 people between 6 and 7 a.m., if not more. It's been hectic.”

Town councilor Todd Lizotte, who was present at the polls this morning, said, “A heck of a lot of people showed up at the crack of dawn, more than normal. It's a very high volume.”

Lizotte was attending the voter affidavit booth. In October, town moderator Don Riley requested the presence of town councilors at the election, noting that their contributions were technically required under the state's constitution.

Though the school's gym was packed and parking and traffic around the school were problematic, the flow of voters within the building was steady and constant, a fact Lizotte attributed to Riley's organization.

“Don Riley's pretty good. He's been planning this,” said Lizotte. “He did some tests, using the primaries as a base model for how to get the flow right. … I think it's flowing really well.”

Election officials also noted that the new voter ID law had been implemented without issue, with under 20 people as of noon having requested to fill out a voter affidavit.

“We haven't had any refusals,” said Hebert. “People have been willing to fill out the forms, and our affidavit room has been very slow. I think for the most part (voters) have been very ready to show their IDs.”

The David R. Cawley Middle School is located on 89 Whitehall Road.