Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day - at long last


The polls are finally open. There was no line at all when I voted around ten this morning, and there didn't seem to be much of one just after four either. We don't have early voting in New York , so where is everybody? Did they all vote absentee? This is a predominantly Republican area of central New York, so did they stay home thinking their votes wouldn't matter? Lines will surely develop as we head into the evening hours, right?
Last year there was a referendum on turf and lights for the high school football field. The issue was particularly divisive, and voter turnout was unprecedented. Lines stretched out the door and curled through the parking lot. Polls were kept open late to allow voters in line at closing to cast their ballot. The referendum failed, but with turnout close to 90% nearly every voice was heard. I was expecting the same today. The results of this election may not be a surprise, but I will be very interested in local voter turnout.

2 comments:

  1. Do I understand it right that the turf and lights were voted down? How did you feel about the subject??

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nan, I voted for the turf and lights. There were concerns about the expense, safety, and environmental impact of the turf. Neighbors were also opposed to the lights and increased traffic night games would generate. Two of my daughters were on the Varsity field hockey team last fall and would have benefited from turf. I also felt that night games would have been great for the entire community - kids, families, and businesses.

    Turnout on election day ended up being slightly above average, but not quite as high as it was for the turf/lights issue. I'm not sure I like what that says about our small town.

    ReplyDelete

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