Editor’s note: Dispatches from VTDigger staffers Anne Galloway, Morgan True, Laura Krantz, Hilary Niles, John Herrick, Jon Margolis and Tom Brown were used to compile this story. Updated at 6:06 p.m.
WINOOSKI — Carol Barrett, a 34-year veteran poll worker in Chittenden County, sat behind a laptop in the Winooski Senior Center, the Chittenden 6-7 district polling station.
Turnout appeared to her roughly the same as the last midterm election in 2010, when roughly 35 percent of Winooski’s 5,400 registered voters cast ballots, Barrett said. But by 1 p.m., after a lunch break spike, only roughly 15 percent had showed up.
Barrett expects another wave of voters after work around 5 p.m., she said, but there’s typically another group of stragglers, who forget there’s an election until they get home and watch the 6 p.m. news.
Vermonters headed to the polls Tuesday to elect statewide officers, all members of the Legislature and a slate of county offices.
The most-watched races include the contest for governor between Democratic incumbent Peter Shumlin, Republican Scott Milne and five others; the race for lieutenant governor between incumbent Republican Phil Scott and Progressive/Democrat Dean Corren; and several close races for the Vermont House and Senate.
Voters leaving the Winooski Senior Center said they voted because it’s a civic duty, but few expressed any excitement about specific candidates or said there was a particular issue that brought them to the polls.
“It’s an obligation I have for myself,” said Lance Jennings, 27, adding that it’s important to him to vote for the Statehouse candidates that will represent Winooski.
Moses Tong, 35, an immigrant from South Sudan said he voted because he’s proud to exercise his right as a U.S. citizen. Tong said it was his second time voting, after the 2012 presidential election.
Dana Visser, 33, said she voted every year, and wanted to see Shumlin and Rep. Peter Welch continue to serve, but that there wasn’t a specific issue that brought her to the polls.
Jon Odum, the Montpelier City Clerk, says turnout is “fair to middlin” in the state capital. While local residents have been steadily filtering into City Hall on Tuesday, he expects about 3,000 voters, or slightly less than 50 percent will cast ballots this year. In the 2012 presidential election, about 4,600 out of 6,300 registered voters turned out. A poll worker at one voting station in Burlington said turnout was about one-third at 5:30 p.m.
The capital scene
Lynda Royce of Montpelier came out to vote for Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat. “I just love him,” Royce said. “He’s done wonders for the average person and he’s going to win, too. Milne has never run for office before and his first race is for governor.”
Pat McDonald, a Republican candidate for the state senate, said she worked really hard in her bid to win a Washington County seat. In addition to going every chicken pie event and mostaccioli supper in the county, she visited all 20 towns, produced a one-minute campaign song and made a video spot with Phil Scott comparing political balance in the Legislature with balance on a motorcycle.
“I have fallen in love with Vermont again,” McDonald says. “I’m going to write a story about win or lose because I’m just like a lot of people I go to work, watch TV, cook dinner and there are so many dinners and barbecues you can’t beat this stuff and museums I mean get up and get out, it’s a great county.”
Shumlin said he’s excited so many people are showing up to vote.
“I’m optimistic,” Shumlin said outside the Montpelier City Hall on Tuesday. “I’m hopeful I can move the state forward on the issues that people are concerned about across America. When I talk to governors across the country there is frustration that folks are working hard playing by the rules and they’re not seeing the benefits of this economic recovery — that’s a national challenge.”
The governor says the constituents he’s talked with are frustrated by the gap in incomes between the wealthy and working class.
While Vermont is doing better economically than other states, the governor said, “you have to ask, what’s holding back the economy? Health care costs are rising faster than their incomes and in Vermont education spending is rising faster than incomes. Those are the two big issues.”
Health care on voters’ minds
Bob Dougall of Bolton stood in Barre City polling place from 9 a.m. with a sign for Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Dan Feliciano.
Dougall said he had disengaged from politics until this year when he met Feliciano at a Libertarian event.
“He’s a good guy. I was pretty impressed,” Dougall said.
Health care is the most important issue to him. Dougall and his wife together pay about $120 a month in health insurance premiums and have a $2,000 deductible but have calculated that their monthly payments and deductible could more than double if they are forced to switch to Vermont Health Connect, the system Shumlin’s administration is creating.
Dougall said he wouldn’t mind his taxes going up several percentage points to help pay for health insurance for the poor if he could keep his current health plan, but he cannot tolerate a 15 percent or more raise in his own costs.
“The health care plan is a big deal for us,” he said.
Dougall said he would have supported Milne if Milne has come out stronger against Shumlin’s health care agenda. He said
Susan Winslow of Barre voted for Shumlin Tuesday afternoon in Barre. Winslow also said health care is the most important issue for her as well. She said she voted for incumbent Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin because she supports his plan to move to a state-sponsored health care system known as single payer.
Winslow said she typically votes for Democrats or independents.
Dissatisfaction in Northfield
At Northfield High School, town clerk Kim Pedley said turnout started with about 300 absentee ballots filed in advance, and turnout had been steady all day. By 4 p.m., more than 650 residents had filed into the lobby to cast their ballots. The town has roughly 3,100 registered voters, overall.
Twin sisters Diane Quelch and Denise Wetmore were raised in a Republican family in Groton. Their biggest hope got the election is to get Shumlin out of office, they said.
They voted for Milne at the top of straight Republican tickets.
A vote against Shumlin also drew Pete DeMasi to the polls.
“Our current governor is not doing justice for our state,” DeMasi said. He’s particularly bothered by the amount of money spent on the state’s dysfunctional health care exchange.
He said as a municipal employee in Northfield, the switch has amounted to a $1 per hour pay cut. DeMasi also thinks it’s wrong to require participation in the state exchange.
“I don’t think Milne is the right choice,” DeMasi said. “But hopefully if he can get in there, he can make significant changes.”
Further down the ballot, DeMasi was less certain about which boxes he’d check behind the curtain. He said he likes Phil Scott, but is troubled by some of Scott’s local supporters, who DeMasi said “create a rocky road for the town.”
DeMasi is a regular voter and feels tuned into the issues, but said it’s harder to follow local representatives and candidates. He often leaves those boxes blank, he said.
‘Don’t vote? Can’t bitch’
It was a different scene at the Roxbury Country Store, where from her perch at the counter, Flo Parzych did her best to send customers down the street to the polls.
“Did you vote yet?” she asked one customer after another. “Are you going to?”
“Nope,” most replied Tuesday evening as a steady stream of beer, beef jerky and potato chips crossed the counter.
Francis Jones slipped a pack of Marlboro cigarettes into the breast pocket of his coat before heading out, and not to vote.
Parzych said the younger people who don’t vote don’t upset her, because she was there once, too.
About 15 years ago, she said, something clicked. Parzych can’t recall a particular issue or circumstance, like buying a house or settling down in one town, that changed her.
“I finally got it in my head that it really does affect me and my kids and my grandkids,” she said. In Roxbury, where Parzych has lived about a decade, she’s become even more active in both politics and civic life.
And she has little tolerance for people who don’t vote if they’re going to complain about politicians.
Parzych said talk at the store often turns political, and she’ll often ask of complaining if they voted. If the answer is no, her reply will be: “Well, what the hell are you bitching about, then?!”
A man in his 30s, new to town, signs his name to rolls of coins he’s using to pay for three 25-ounce cans of Bud Lite and two bags of chips, and Parzych tells him goodbye. She’s either forgotten or chosen not to find out if he’ll have a right to complain, in her book, come the next inauguration.
Challenges for Shumlin in Waterbury
At the polls in Waterbury, 1,427 of about 3,700 voters had cast ballots by 5 p.m., according to the town clerk.
Anne Brunell, 55, said she voted for Libertarian Dan Feliciano after hearing him on a VPR debate wanting to choose someone besides Shumlin. Property tax is one of the most important issues for her, she said. Vermont’s quality of life is high but it is expensive to live here, she said.
Clement and Donna Despault in Waterbury also said they wanted to choose someone besides Shumlin.
“Any man that can go after a mentally challenged person like Mr. Dodge, I don’t think deserves to be governor,” Donna Despault, 72, said.
The couple said they do not support legalizing marijuana and want to keep the current health care system rather than implementing the Shumlin administration’s plans for reform.
Carol Schwartz said she voted for Scott Milne because “this whole Vermont Health Connect thing is making me crazy.”
Schwartz’s husband Bill, who said he works in IT, said he supports the concept of reforming health care but is frustrated that the state has sunk $80 million into a failed system.
“I’m not happy with the job that Peter Shumlin has done,” he said.
Katurah McCants, 27, said she does not like the direction the Shumlin administration has taken the government but voted for Shumlin because he is “the lesser of two evils.”
McCants said she also voted for Dean Corren, a Progressive/Democrat, for lieutenant governor because he supports causes that are important to her including the environment, human rights and the economy.
Patrick Barrett also voted for Shumlin. He said he does not approve of the governor “100 percent” but respects him for his stance on civil rights issues including LGBT equality and health care.
“He probably has shown that he has similar stands on issues that matter to me,” Barrett said.
No upsets were expected in the other statewide races:
U.S. HOUSE: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Peter Welch is seeking his fifth term in Congress. He is opposed by five other candidates: Republican Mark Donka, Matthew Andrews of the Liberty Union, Energy Independence candidate Jerry Trudell and independents Cris Ericson and Randall Meyer.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Democrat William Sorrell is Vermont’s longest-servnig attorney general. He was appointed by Gov. Howard Dean in 1997 and is running in his ninth election. He is opposed by Republican Shane McCormack and Rosemarie Jackowski of the Liberty Union.
SECRETARY OF STATE: Secretary of State Jim Condos, a Democrat, is seeking his third term. He faces Progressive Ben Eastwood and Liberty Union candidate Mary Alice Herbert.
TREASURER: Incumbent Democrat Beth Pearce is in her second election. She won in 2012 after being appointed to replace Treasurer Jeb Spaulding. Pearce is faced by Progressive Don Schramm and Murray Ngoima of the Liberty Union.
AUDITOR:Â Doug Hoffer is unopposed in his bid for a second term as state auditor. He has the Democratic and Progressive Party nominations.