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JERREY ROBERTS

A group of Scott Brown supporters, from left, Cecilia Calabrese of Agawam, Agawam City Councilor George Bitzas, Odette Czapliki of Holyoke, Tony Pluta of South Hadley, Dorothy Taupier of Holyoke and Holyoke City Councilor and Western Massachusetts Republicans Chairman Kevin Jourdain watch election results Tuesday at Sandcastle Lounge in Holyoke.

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JERREY ROBERTS

A group of Martha Coakley supporters gathered at Paradise City Tavern in Northampton Tuesday watch election results on TV as Scott Brown is declared a winner.

NORTHAMPTON - Hampshire County voters swarmed to the polls for Tuesday's special U.S. Senate election in numbers normally reserved for a presidential race.

Like voters throughout the state, residents were lured to the polls by the national ramifications the outcome is expected to have on the country's political landscape. Several city and town clerks said the late ascension of Republican Scott Brown and ramped-up publicity in the election's last few days played a big role in the turnout, which dwarfed the primary turnout just a few weeks ago and in most communities felt like a presidential election.

"It certainly felt big like that," said Easthampton Town Clerk Barbara LaBombard.

Voter turnout was high in every community, with some 65 percent in Shutesbury, 64 percent in Hadley, 61 percent in Northampton, 56 percent in Easthampton, 47 percent in Amherst and 45 percent in South Hadley.

"This is a clear sign that folks had some tough decisions to make and wanted to have their voices heard," said South Hadley Town Clerk Carlene C. Hamlin.

In Northampton, City Clerk Wendy Mazza noticed an increase in the number of young people involved.

"It reminded me of the last presidential election because you could tell a lot of the people calling in were young and wanted to make sure they knew where to go to vote," she said.

In addition to die-hard voters, the election also drew infrequent and first-time voters.

Andrew Parkhurst, 68, who said he didn't vote for most of his life and only recently became registered to do so, was unswayed by the sudden increase in commercials run by the candidates toward the end of their campaigns.

"I thought it was excessive and not very informative," Parkhurst said. "All of those commercials didn't change my mind one way or the other."

At Munson Memorial Library on South East Street in Amherst, Tim Stillings, 22, voted for the very first time.

"This is my first time voting. I wanted to come out and vote because I knew how important this election was," Stillings said.

Still others jumped into the game late.

Eric Osman, an Amherst resident, said he had only been vaguely aware of the race until a few days ago, when he received an email telling him to vote in the election.

"I said, 'Who's running and who should I vote for?'" Osman said. He said he was ultimately persuaded to vote for Coakley because of her support for the president's health care initiative and because he disagrees with Brown's opposition to gay marriage and his anti-abortion position.