NEW BEDFORD — Bill Clinton's midday Buttonwood Park rally may have made the local Democratic faithful happy on Election Day. But, social media and local talk radio lit up with complaints about the lack of access to Buttonwood's polls as more than 1,000 people gathered just feet from the front doors and nearby parking was nowhere to be found.

"The voters in Ward 5 were greatly shortchanged,” said Deborah Furtado of New Bedford, a candidate for GOP State Committee Second Bristol-Plymouth District. “I was there and I saw people driving by and they just kept going. Any elderly, handicapped or shy people were not able to vote. I'm very upset, this shows no foresight, no honesty, no transparency."

Mayor Jon Mitchell, who worked with the Clinton campaign to bring the former president to New Bedford, said the campaign asked to meet at a poll and he thought of Buttonwood Park because it is close to the highway and is accessible. Clinton also met with voters at polling locations in Boston, Newton and Taunton on Tuesday.

“The idea that there were efforts taken to block people at polls is complete nonsense,” Mitchell said. “Understand this, I didn’t hear from anybody saying they couldn’t get to a poll today.”

City Election Commissioner Maria Tomasia said she visited the two polling locations in the Buttonwood Warming House at about 10:45 a.m. and found about 40 people outside. She said she immediately called police to make sure there was crowd and traffic control, available parking and clear access to the polls.

“This has become a big issue but no one was turned away,” she said. “That has always been one of our most active polling places and there is a lot of parking available in nearby streets.”

By 11:30 when former President Clinton's appearance was still a half-hour away, there were already few parking spots on the streets immediately adjacent to the Warming House.

Tomasia said she did not visit the polls later. By noon, the crowd had swelled to more than 1,000, totally blocking the parking lot immediately outside the polls and surrounding the entrance.

While the station remained open, poll workers acknowledged the crowds may have made it difficult for people to vote during the lunchtime hours.

“(Voters) all came before he arrived. We’ll pick up after school,” Rita Varao, a poll clerk, said. “The parking and crowds probably did hinder some.”

By 2 p.m., Precinct 5E recorded 371 votes and Precinct 5F totaled 309 votes which was good, according to Varao. There are 1,959 voters in the precinct.

GOP State Committeeman Brock Cordeiro of Dartmouth, who saw Clinton at Custom House Square and in Fall River more than a decade ago, said it was poor planning to host the former president outside the polls. He also said that Clinton was seen within 150 feet of the entrance and that the large crowd likely suppressed voter turnout.

Clinton spoke to the crowd on behalf of Hillary Clinton well within the 150-foot limit where campaigning is not allowed. The former president also said he was happy that supporters of Bernie Sanders were there, taking part in the event.

“If I were a Bernie Sanders supporter, I’d be furious,” Cordeiro said. “Whoever organized this owes the voters of that precinct a sincere and profound apology.”

Mayor Mitchell countered that even though there was a large crowd and an obvious lack of parking spots, police were pointing people in the right direction. There were no violations and the entire press corp was right near the entrance, he said.

“I can’t see any reason why people couldn’t vote,” he said. “Traffic jams happen around polling locations all the time. We live in a city."

The Sanders campaign did not seem bothered.

“We've received a number of calls on this but people call on lots of things on election day. It has not stopped our day by any means,” said Joe Caiazzo, communications and political director for the campaign in Massachusetts.

Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin, said there is no violation as long as the entrance isn’t blocked and the doors aren’t closed. Jurisdiction of city streets and access is up to each city, however, he said.

Shaking hands or greeting people does not usually constitute a violation of the rule. Neither do the crowds. Generally, a violation would involve handing out literature or wearing a campaign button within the 150-foot distance, McNiff said.

State election law states no one may solicit a person's vote within 150 feet of a polling location. There were reports of Clinton meeting with poll workers and voters across the state throughout the day and that Galvin reminded the Hillary Clinton campaign of the rule.

Eric Bosco ebosco@s-t.com and Kathleen McKiernan kmckiernan@s-t.com contributed to this article