Tuesday’s presidential primary has generated a lot of interest in Rochester, as Town Clerk Naida Parker reported a large spike in people who registered to vote.

“I’m expecting a decent turnout,” Parker, who is a Selectman, said Monday night. “Primaries have historically low voter turnout. I think this will be a surprise.”

Over the past two months, Parker said that more than 200 people have registered, which increased the voter roll from 4,039 to roughly 4,250. She said that was "unheard of" for Rochester.

“I’m seeing a lot of young people registering to vote and a lot of new people who moved into town,” she said.

The number of absentee ballots she’s handed out has also been much higher for a primary.

“This is, right now, almost as much as we would see for a state election,” she said. “It’s a surprising amount of absentee ballots being taken out for this election."

Parker reminded voters that the deadline to request an absentee ballot is noon on Feb. 29 at Town Hall.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Senior Center on Tuesday, March 1 for the presidential primary.