FALL RIVER — With COVID-19 social distancing measures in place, voters filed into local polling sites Tuesday for the primary election.

Disposable masks were available at the polling places in Fall River, Somerset and Swansea, but voters came prepared wearing their own masks. Hand sanitizer was strategically placed, polling volunteers were pitching in wiping down voting stations after each use and pens were deposited into bins to be sanitized before the next use.

As of mid-morning, precinct wardens and town clerks said they had not had any issues with people not complying with the mask regulations. And voters seemed to be taking the COVID-19 social distancing/hygiene measures in stride.

“I vote in every election. As long you want someone to represent you, you might as well make the effort to go out and vote. I don’t care for mail-in ballots. I figure if I can walk and I can drive I can vote,” said Stephen Kay, a senior citizen as he exited Swansea’s polling site at the Senior and Community Center about 11 a.m.

Kay said he felt comfortable with the COVID-19 measures that were in place at the Swansea Community Center polling site where all five precincts were voting. “It was very well organized,” he said.

At the Cardinal Medeiros Towers in Fall River, Kathy Correia, warden of precinct 8B, said it was “a little bit slower” than a typical primary election morning as voters streamed into the polling site.

“From what I gather a lot of people have done early voting at city hall,” she said.

A handful of voters quickly entered and exited the polling site at the Union United Methodist Church on Highland Avenue where there were two women working the polls. Joseph Cipriano, one of the 7A precinct voters said the Democratic U.S. Senate race between incumbent Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy was his main concern in the primary election.

“I’m a big supporter of Kennedy…. Markey’s been around a long time. I think it’s time we bring in some new blood. That was the major reason I came out,” he said, adding he wasn’t deterred by COVID-19 concerns. “If we can go shopping, we can go to banks…. I’m willing to follow the steps that need to be done if that means bring a mask, stay six feet away and put your pen over there so they can sanitize.”

In the North End of the city at the Calvary Temple, it was also a little slower than a typical primary Election Day morning, said Yolanda Young, warden of precinct 9C.

“It’s always busier in the evening,” she added.

As she headed in to vote at the Calvary Temple, Carol Bigelow said she wasn’t drawn by any particular race, but said she never misses a chance to vote. “When it comes to elections, we’re here every time,” she added.

Diane Pelland, Swansea town clerk, said voting was “nice and steady” as of mid-morning. In Swansea, she said they had processed a little over 3,000 early voting and absentee ballots as of about 11 a.m. Pelland said those ballots accounted for “way more” than the usual amount of overall votes in a primary election.

It was the same story in Somerset, where town clerk Dolores Berge said about 2,800 to 2,900 absentee and early voting/mail-in ballots had been returned as of 10 a.m.

“I gave up trying to keep track of it because it’s just been too steady,” she added. Typically, she said primary elections overall have fewer than 1,500 people voting, In 2016, there was a total of 485 votes in the primary and in 2018 it was 1,250 total votes.

Swansea and neighboring Somerset moved their polling sites from the traditional locations in the towns’ high schools to their senior community centers amid the uncertainty over school reopening plans but it appeared voters weren’t having any trouble finding the relocated polling sites.

“It’s been busier than we thought, because they had a lot of mail-in ballots,” said Jason Mattos, Somerset Police Detective Lieutenant as he greeted voters in the town.

Election Day in November will return to the high schools in Somerset and Swansea.

Linda Brosco, a Swansea resident who was manning a Wreaths Across America fundraising bake sale table at the Somerset Community Center also said the Kennedy-Markey U.S Senate race was her main interest in the primary election.

Having met Kennedy in her job a few years ago, she said, “He’s a very nice young man with good ideas. Not because he’s a Kennedy… He really has Massachusetts at heart. It was a hard choice for me because they (Markey and Kennedy) have a lot in common.”