Ask one of Vermont’s first Election Day voters what candidate or cause inspired her to wake early and she instead spouted a long list of household objects ranging from slippers to a remote control.
“My television has taken serious abuse,” said the Brattleboro woman who confessed to throwing the aforementioned items in response to too many political commentaries and commercials.
She’s not alone. Voters surveyed in seven cities and towns Tuesday commented more on the end of the campaign than about any specific individual or issue on local, state or national ballots.
“Everyone’s relieved it’s going to be over,” U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said outside the polls at Montpelier City Hall. “The campaign has been traumatic, but the moment of voting is actually enjoyable.”
Welch spoke on a sidewalk that offered people the chance to meet everyone from U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy to state Treasurer Beth Pearce. Voters, however, seemed more interested in sampling the apple-cider creations at the nearby booth of “The Doughnut Dude.”
In the state’s largest city of Burlington, lawn signs around polling places championed everything from two contentious downtown development proposals — one would allow buildings to rise as tall as 14 stories — to highly contested races for governor and president. But voter after voter pointed to something else when asked what they were thinking about most.
“I’m just relieved the whole thing is over,” real estate appraiser Kurt Kaffenberger said.
In Middlebury, health care worker Brook Morrison concurred.
“I don’t have cable television,” he said, “but this has been a pretty wild election year.”
In Springfield, Democratic Windsor County Senate candidate Alison Clarkson aimed to encourage civility by offering a friendly greeting.
“Happy Election Day!” she welcomed voters.
Local Republican House candidate Scott Frye found a different salutation drew bigger smiles.
“Happy Soon-To-Be-Over Day!” he said.
In Randolph, the most popular sign outside Town Hall was the one that read, “No Campaigning or Distribution of Literature Beyond This Point,” which Democratic Orange County Sen. Mark MacDonald discovered extended to the toy tractor he brought to amuse children.
As the moon replaced the sun in Rutland, one last voter could point to a candidate who lured him to the polls.
“Bernie,” said a man in a plaid flannel shirt of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wasn’t on the ballot but written in by at least one voter. “He’s the only choice.”
