Polls open for Election Day 2010

(WTNH) - Polls are open across Connecticut in an election that will see new people in the Governor's office in Hartford and in the U.S. Senate in Washington.

Along with governor and senator, voters will elect a new attorney general, secretary of the state and treasurer.

Exciting stuff, but the prediction is for only 60 percent turnout. Too bad, because voters will also decide on all the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the state House and Senate too, plus some local judgeships.

At one polling place in Hamden, the number of voters was significantly smaller than when News 8 visited two years ago for the presidential election. And what was on the mind of voters this time around?

"Taxes, just the whole state of government in general," Mike Hornak of Hamden said. "I can say that I'm really not happy with the way things are going presently."

"There was one time I voted Republican because I believed in Bush values," Audrey Reynolds said, "but now I believe differently, so now I think it's time to give the Democrats a chance."

Temperatures were in the 30s across Connecticut as the polls opened at 6:00 a.m. In Branford, frost glazed over the cars at the polling place at the Indian Neck School.

The high-profile Senate race between Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Richard Blumenthal has been making headlines for months here in Connecticut and across the country. Both candidates were up and cast their ballots early, going so far as to Tweet pictures of them at the polls.

Blumenthal has had a lead in the last few Quinnipiac University polls, but the latest numbers show McMahon closing the gap.The latest QU poll showed her nine points behind Blumenthal, but she says her own polls show her just two points back.

Connecticut's race for governor has been consistently tight for the past couple of months. The QU poll shows Republican Tom Foley pulling slightly ahead of Democrat Dan Malloy, but it's really still too close to call.

Like the Senate candidates, the men running for governor voted within the first hour that the polls were open. Malloy voted before 6:30 a.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Stamford, while Foley voted shortly after 6 a.m. at Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center.

It's an important election, but these mid-term elections never get the kind of turnout that we see in an election year. Especially when you compare the numbers to two years ago. Connecticut had great turnout for President Obama's election. But this pivotal mid-term year is expected to be just like previous midterms, where not even two third of registered voters will get out here to the polls.

People have lots of excuses for not voting -- they're sick of all the ads, angry at Washington -- Those aren't very good excuses, but there's one excuse you just can't use anymore and that is not knowing where to vote.

News 8 has teamed up with Google to make it so you can find out instantly where you should vote. Just go to wtnh.com and click on the onPolitix section . All you do is type in your home address and the computer will tell you where to go to make your voice heard.

The polls are open until 8:00 p.m.

WTNH.com and News 8 will have election returns from all the statewide and general assembly races from across Connecticut as soon as they come in, on air, on your computer and your mobile device.