Candidates reported a lower than expected turnout in the City of Hamilton’s historic election, a few hours before the polling station closes.About 150 people had cast their ballot by 5pm today, representing less than a quarter of those eligible to vote under a new system giving every resident in the City a right to vote.It is the first municipalities Ordinary Election after business and property owners lost their right to vote multiple times, based on the number of buildings they own.Candidates said they hoped many more of the 687 registered voters would visit City Hall before this evening’s 8pm deadline.However, youth worker Carlton Simmons, who is running for Alderman as part of ‘Team Hamilton’, said he’d seen a large proportion of younger voters throughout the day.“One of the proudest bits of the day for myself was our ability to drag the young people out,” Mr Simmons told The Royal Gazette on the City Hall steps.“The majority of people in this Country didn’t vote before 1998. Maybe they’ve voted twice in their lifetime. We have had to spend a good bit of time educating people about how to vote multiple times.”Mayor Charles Gosling and challenger Graeme Outerbridge noted it was impossible to tell how well either side was doing.Mr Outerbridge said: “It will have a lot to do with how the voters feel about how their concerns have been met. If they feel disconnected from the present team, they may not want to vote for them.”Mr Gosling said: “I would have expected participation of 50 percent but it looks like it will be considerably less.“If it was the business community voting, one could write it off as apathy. But on this occasion it is residents.”Mr Gosling said a large number of residents on the official list have since moved out of the City and will not be voting.Alderman John Harvey said: “Let’s hope for as many voters as possible. Everybody’s been very polite as they’ve come in to vote, but that’s the same for both sides.”