Mike Fishlock, a polling place worker in Warwick for more than 20 years, signs in for a three-hour training session yesterday in the city’s Buttonwoods Senior Center; at right is Bill Quirk, a supervisor for the Board of Canvassers. Below, Miguel Nunez, of Cranston, an employee of the state Board of Elections, demonstrates how the voting machine works.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

Races for the General Assembly and school committees headline a busy primary election Tuesday in the West Bay region.

In Cranston, voters will decide whether to give the Democratic nomination to longtime Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, who has made waves with an aggressive bid to crack down on illegal immigration.

In East Greenwich and West Greenwich, Republican Rep. Robert A. Watson, the House minority leader, faces an intraparty challenge for the first time in years.

In Warwick and West Warwick, communities where the schools are in financial trouble, school board races are attracting local attention.

And throughout the West Bay and across the state, Democrats and unaffiliated voters will have the chance to back Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed or his opponent Christopher Young.

Some local election officials say they are not expecting particularly heavy turnout.

“I’m expecting a low turnout in … Jack Reed’s race,” said Janet Olsson, town clerk in West Greenwich. “I haven’t heard any advertising.”

Olsson said she was not sure what to expect in Watson’s race. But she noted that his district encompasses just a small part of the town.

Unaffiliated voters across the state have the option to vote in Democratic or Republican races.

And they could be a force. Registration records show there are close to 91,000 unaffiliated voters in the West Bay. There are about 56,000 registered Democrats and 20,000 registered Republicans.

Unaffiliated voters who cast ballots in Democratic or Republican primaries automatically become registered in those parties and must disaffiliate afterward if they wish to remain independents.

Elections officials say voters will not face any radical changes this primary. But there have been a few small-bore changes.

In West Greenwich, for instance, those who normally cast ballots at the Lighthouse Christian Center will be voting at Town Hall.

And in East Greenwich, voters who show up at the Frenchtown School will notice they are casting ballots in the cafeteria rather than the gym.

“It’s a bigger room,” said Judy Keenan, clerk of the Board of Canvassers.