They may have had divided opinions over the candidates and issues, but voters seemed to be at a consensus on at least one thing: the polling operation the town ran on Election Day was a runaway success.

Voters started lining up at Bedford High School shortly after 5 in the morning – the earliest Town Moderator Ryk Bullock has ever seen anyone show up to cast a ballot.

By the time the doors were ready to open two hours later, the queue had wrapped around the building.

“You couldn’t even see the end of the line,” said state Rep. Ken Hawkins, who was running for re-election as a Republican.

Within 35 minutes of opening, however, Bullock’s crew of 114 election workers had cleared the crowd and continued to keep foot traffic flowing at a steady clip throughout the day. Bullock said his staff was processing voters in under six and a half minutes, a dramatic contrast with the 2004 election when the wait time at the space limited McKelvie School was two and a half hours.

Bullock said Bedford High School allows him ample room for 21 check-ins and an equal number of check out tables as well as nearly 270 voting stations.

“It was a lot better than last year because they had a lot more tables set up,” said voter Ed Carey. “The only thing they could have done better is have a drive-in like McDonald’s.”

In fact, there was space leftover for a blood drive, bone marrow registrations, and several booths manned by community organizations like the Bedford Women’s Club and the Animal Rescue League.

During the day, Bullock was confident there would be record turnout of 13,500 to 14,000 people, but total voters, including absentee ballots, was 12,785.

The town moderator was also expecting a sizeable turnout of overseas media. In the past, Bedford has hosted networks from Japan, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy. He had even lined up an attorney for the Republican Party, Scott Earnshaw, to double as a translator for members of any Japanese networks that showed up. Bullock points to that as an example of Bedford hospitality.

“We take every precaution,” Bullock said. “We want to make this a pleasant situation for everyone. That’s the reason people keep coming back to us.”

Secretary of State Bill Gardner hosted representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe who visited New Hampshire to observe the election process. On Election Day, they were scheduled to visit Bedford and Londonderry.

Those two towns, along with Hudson, were in a race of their own Election Day to be the single largest polling place in the Granite State, depending upon turnout. Bullock said he was humbled by the honor being paid to the town.

“I’m extremely grateful for the Secretary of State’s confidence in Bedford and obviously I’m very thankful to my staff because they’re the ones who make Bedford as good as it is,” Bullock said. “We’re becoming a historical entity. I can’t imagine any community that would not be extremely flattered and extremely grateful.”

Also, in another Bedford election first, the town welcomed its youngest official poll worker ever – Tessa Roy, who turned 17 on Sunday. Thanks to a new state law, she, and other New Hampshire 17-year-olds, can work at the polls even though they cannot vote.

“It’s kind of weird because I feel like I should be able to vote,” the Bedford High School junior said. “I think everybody should be able to vote, freshmen through senior citizen.”

She spent most of the day switching spots with her father, Town Councilor Paul Roy, checking in voters. She said her volunteer time would count for credit toward extracurricular civics involvement, which is mandatory for graduation.

Roy said the day was filled with its fair share of exciting moments as well as lulls. The highest point, she said, was in the morning, when the first voters were allowed in.

“The most exciting moment was when they opened the doors for everybody,” she said. “Just to see the rush come in.”