NEW SHARON – Fourteen-year-old Dakota Savage watched more than 23 percent of the town’s registered voters in action Saturday and had some of his illusions debunked along the way.

Savage, a freshman at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, was learning how the town meeting process worked from his mother, Tamara Morgan, postmaster of the New Sharon Post Office.

“I’ve been hearing about this since I was this high,” Savage said as he held a hand about 3 feet off the ground.

Mother and son sat in the second row at the annual town meeting at Cape Cod Hill School, surrounded by more than 240 voters. It was the biggest turnout she’s seen in her 30 years as town moderator, said Nora Thombs.

New Sharon still holds the meeting in New England tradition with officials elected from the floor.

Voters bring a writing instrument and small pieces of paper from home for use as ballots.

On Saturday, townspeople were determined to have their say despite Mother Nature’s effort to break the winter snowfall record.

Morgan thought for sure her son would get to see elections and several questions debated in the first half of the meeting. Instead, he got to see one article discussed and lots of voting. By the time the two left, people had been at it nearly four hours and were still on Article 4 with 47 left to go, and decided to break for lunch.

He had watched people line up over and over and walk to the ballot box to drop their choices in.

“I learned just because you’re in office a long period of time, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to win,” Savage said. He had witnessed Selectman Jim Smith lose his bid for re-election after 46 years serving the town to Larry Donald.

Savage had expected more debate in the first half of the meeting but did get to see one article discussed that resulted in a salary increase for the town clerk.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “I will be more excited when I get to vote.”

It’s not like voting for president when you check a box off, he said. There is discussion and debate, he added.

He was surprised that a person needs to get half of the overall votes cast plus one more to win in a three-way race.

“I thought whoever got the most votes won,” Savage said.

There were two selectmen contests that had to be re-voted two and four times because no single candidate got the majority votes in initial attempts though candidates on several occasions had garnered more votes than other candidates.

Savage was not the only one surprised about the seven attempts to elect three selectmen.

Resident Ernie Scholl said it was the first time he had had to vote more than twice on a candidate.

“Obviously there is a mood among some they want to see new people, whether that’s good or not, I don’t know,” Scholl said.