HAVERHILL — The signs were all there.

Phones in the city clerk's office were ringing off the hook with voters wondering where they will cast ballots.

Workers stayed busy assembling voting booths at Haverhill's 22 polling places.

Candidates squeezed in last-minute campaigning — shaking hands, waving to passers-by, and organizing armies of sign-holders to descend on Haverhill's sidewalks today.

On election eve yesterday, candidates took advantage of a last chance to campaign while schools and housing complexes were transformed into places where voters will mark their ballots for mayor, City Council and School Committee.

Yesterday, Assistant City Clerk Rick Barber made sure any last-minute requests for absentee ballots were in the mail by noon and the roughly 20,000 ballots were boxed. He said police would deliver the ballots to polling locations before they opened today at 7 a.m.

Barber said he expects to see nearly 25 percent of Haverhill's 42,000 registered voters cast ballots. Only 12 percent of registered voters went to the polls in the city's preliminary election on Sept. 15.

"I'm thinking the turnout was low because there was no mayoral preliminary," Barber said.

Polls in Haverhill are open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots must be delivered to the city clerk's office, or arrive by mail by 7 tonight, Barber said.

The city's voting booths, many of which are old and have been repaired dozens of times, were assembled and set up between 6 a.m. and noon yesterday.

Jeff Dill, director of maintenance for Haverhill public schools, said he and his crew of five workers assembled the booths starting with those at Second Baptist Church on Amesbury Line Road.

"They are old fir and pine antique wooden booths that have been used for years," Dill said.

Headlining today's elections is the mayoral race between James Fiorentini, who is seeking a record-tying fourth term as mayor, and challenger John Michitson, a former City Council president.

Michitson's door-to-door campaigning that began in June with walking tours of neighborhoods across the city culminated yesterday with visits to homes in his own Riverside neighborhood.

"This is my home base and I saved it for the end," Michitson said.

He began his day at 8 a.m. by holding a sign in front of Regan Ford on Broadway.

"It is never too late to reach out to the citizens," Michitson said during a midday break in his campaigning. "If they're home I'll chat with them, give them my pitch and listen to what they have to say. And if not, I'll leave them my campaign materials."

He said his supporters planned to hold signs at White's Corner — the intersection of Basiliere Bridge and Route 125 — from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and would also be making phone calls urging their friends to vote.

"I'll be calling all of the good folks that have contributed to my campaign," Michitson said.

Before beginning his day of work at City Hall, Mayor James Fiorentini held a sign at the corner of Marsh Avenue and Main Street starting at 7 a.m. At lunchtime he handed out free tickets to his annual spaghetti dinner during visits to the Citizens Center and senior housing complexes, including Phoenix Row, 25 Washington Square and Merrivista, He shook hands in front of the post office in Washington Square and planned to hold a sign at White's Corner in the afternoon.

"You do everything you possibly can to win and you don't know exactly what works and what doesn't," Fiorentini said. "I'm interested in the job, I want the job and I'll campaign right up until the election."

Fiorentini said he planned to have 100 supporters making phone calls today and going door to door in an effort to get voters to the polls.

Veteran City Councilor William Macek was out and about yesterday starting with morning visits to elderly housing complexes and then a noontime stop at the Citizens Center to meet and greet senior citizens arriving to play bingo.

"It's important to let people know that I don't take their vote for granted and that I'm working hard for their vote," Macek said. "My old friend Paul Rice (the late city councilor) used to say, 'You don't know what really works, but do none of it and see where you come in on the count.'"

Political newcomer Sven Amirian, a candidate for City Council, shook hands in front of the post office in Washington Square from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. in an effort to gain recognition. He was at Market Basket in Westgate Plaza in the afternoon and planned to attend Fiorentini's spaghetti dinner in the evening.

"He invited seniors to come for free and seniors are a strong voting block," Amirian said. "I want to make sure I connect with as many strong voters as I can."

Amirian was an attention-grabber everywhere he parked his pickup truck.

"I adorned it with my campaign signs and banners and made sure it looked pretty gaudy," he said.

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