Last modified: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:35 AM EDT Mansfield heads to the polls MATT KAKLEY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF MANSFIELD - Voters are headed to the polls today to decide the fate of a $3.2 million override, but Town Clerk Helen Christian said she doesn't think many residents will be around to cast ballots. "I expect turnout to be low because of the timing," Christian said. "It's right in the middle of the summer." Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mansfield High School gymnasium. Christian said results could be determined shortly after polls close. She said she expects the turnout to be lower than in 2000, when town voters approved a Proposition 2 1/2 override for trash collection and school expenses. In that year, only 19 percent of the town's registered voters cast a ballot. Still, Christian said a lot of voters have come in to town hall to fill out absentee ballots. "We've had a lot of people coming in early because they're going to be on vacation," she said. "I applaud them for coming in and voting." Christian urged all voters to do their best to make it to the polls. "Whichever way they vote on it, they'll know that they made their voices heard," she said. "We need to take pride in our town and vote." She noted that the debt exclusion is different than a typical override. While an override raises property tax rates permanently, the debt exclusion would only last five years, in this case starting in 2010. The override would increase the property tax bill on a $400,000 home by about $84. The amount would decline slightly over the next four years, ending with a $72 increase in 2014, the proposed override's final year.