For most of us, the fact that the 2020 General Election is over is a welcome relief. Granted, the presidential race is unknown as The Valley Reporter goes to press and may not be known for another 24 to 48 hours and there is no way to know what kind of legal shenanigans President Trump will attempt.
But at least the noise has quieted down a bit. The rhetoric is less deafening. And in Vermont and The Valley, elections went smoothly. People were cooperative, COVID-conscious and community minded. There’s been so much unnerving hype about poll watchers and the potential for voter harassment and hints about violence at the polls. That unease coupled with the last brutal week of presidential campaigning feature ever more hectoring from the incumbent (on top of ever-climbing COVID numbers) has made the last 10 days pretty difficult.
It never really seemed likly that we’d have violence at the polls in The Valley or Vermont, but it was still off-putting to contemplate the possibility. It’s great to have this election behind us.
And speaking of elections and voting, one of the best parts about receiving election results from local town clerks is checking to see who is written in for what position. Not all town clerks enumerate the names of all the write-ins on the elections form they submit to the secretary of state. This year some of the write-ins read like a veritable Who’s Who of The Valley.
What do Ted Laskaris, Chase Reagan, Robert Danaher and Jennifer Stella have in common? All write-in votes for U.S. Representative to Congress in Waitsfield. Ted Laskaris got a double billing and shows up as a write-in for Vermont governor as well. Steffan Defeo got a write-in for auditor of accounts in Duxbury. Mike Sharkey got a write-in vote for state senator in Waitsfield.
What do Charlie Goodman III, Danielle Lillard, Ed Read, Fred Messer, James Garilli, Jerry Miller, Marie Leotta, AnneMarie DeFreest, Darryl Forrest, Janet Smith, Jon Jamieson, Kellee Mazer, Mike Riccardi, Steve Kreindler, Ryan Riegl, Phil Kiendl, Bob Cook, Chase Reagan, Troy Kingsbury and Win Smith have in common? They’re among the 32 write-in votes cast for Washington 7 state representative.
Here’s to the end of election 2020.
