By JORDAN J. PHELAN
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CLAREMONT — Five incumbents won re-election Tuesday as city residents were left without any newcomers to choose from on the ballot.
Claremont School Board Chair Frank Sprague (733) and incumbent school board member Michael Petrin (677) were victorious in their race to remain on the school board. Eighteen-year-old Stevens High School senior Tyler Sullivan, a write-in candidate, accumulated a total of 153 votes.
School District Moderator Tracy Pope (907), District Clerk Mary Woodman (934), and District Treasurer Jane Hunter (904) also won their uncontested election races.
All seven articles on the ballot were passed by large margins.
Article 1 regarding the election of a town moderator, district clerk, district treasurer, and two school board members passed with a vote of 827 to 124.
Article 2 regarding the $38.2 million school budget passed with a vote of 663 to 374.
Article 3 regarding the approval of the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Claremont School District and the Claremont Association of Secretaries passed with a vote of 712 to 324.
Article 4 regarding the approval of the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Claremont School District and the Claremont Association of Paraprofessionals passed with a vote of 701 to 335.
Article 5 regarding the approval of the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Claremont School District and the Claremont Association of Maintenance and Transportation Employees passed with a vote of 704 to 328.
Article 6 regarding the establishment of a $500,000 School Bus Repair and Replacement Capital Reserve Fund was passed with a vote of 691 to 338.
Article 7 regarding the establishment of a $500,000 Building Repair and Renovation Capital Reserve Fund was passed with a vote of 687 to 346.
The day of voting was slow for all three wards. By 1 p.m., 357 residents – or 5.6% of the total number of registered voters in Claremont – had turned in their ballots at polling locations.
After a long morning in the Disnard Elementary School gymnasium, Ward 3 Moderator Don Fontaine Jr. looked forward to increased voter turnout in the afternoon. Out of 2,107 registered voters in the ward, only 100 people had voted as of 12:30 p.m. From his perspective, voters were not particularly motivated to fulfill their civic duty.
“By and large, [those voting today] are the people that always come out to vote,” he said. “We see the same people come in. They see it as something they want to do and do it. Not excited or any other emotion.”
Brenda Saunders, clerk for Ward 3, echoed Fontaine’s sentiments about the municipal election.
“As far as the school election is concerned, I would say that so far it has been a little light,” she said. “It may pick up after 3 p.m. once some people start getting out of work. This morning we had a few people on the way to work.”
With five cases of the novel coronavirus in the state – three of which are in nearby Grafton County – Fontaine believes that COVID-19 may have played a role in the early limited turnout.
“We have taken the precautions that we can,” Fontaine said. “We are offering hand sanitizer and wipes for people to use. At least about every hour – or if we happen to get a lot of people [in a short amount of time] – we go through the booths and wipe down the areas that are liable to be touched. If there are pens there we wipe them down. It has been fairly well assessed.”
Saunders indicated that she thought the same, but wasn’t definitive over just how impactful the virus was in keeping residents away from the polls.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “It could be but I think it’s minimal.”
Election officials in the Claremont Middle School gymnasium were also prepared to keep the election process as safe and sanitary as possible. Hand sanitizer was readily available atop the ballot counter machines which was used by numerous voters.
For Ward 2, turnout was ultimately better than last year with 434 residents, or 18% of total registered voters, making it to the polls, the highest of any individual ward this election cycle. In 2019, Ward 2 Moderator Alison Raymond characterized the 10% voter turnout in an interview with the Eagle Times as, “Dismal, the worst I’ve ever seen it.” Six hours before voting closed, the ward was on pace to break its previous total by 80 with 147 ballots containing crucial school district election decisions turned in. Although projected total turnout was not being calculated on site, election officials could nevertheless sense that there would be more activity this year.
“I’m thinking that we might exceed [2019] numbers a little bit,” Raymond said.
When asked about recent talks around New England and the country to lower the voting age so that 16-year-olds could participate in local elections, Raymond thought that it might result in little to no impact.
“I feel as though it’s the older population that is represented at the polls. It is not the 30-somethings and the 40-somethings. It’s the older generation that votes,” she said. “But I would hope so. I would hope that there would be some interest sparked.”
In Ward 1, Clerk David Roark and Assistant Moderator Shirley Baldasaro reported that a few of the residents who came into the gymnasium to vote were of the millennial generation.
In response to the hypothetical lowering of the voting age in municipal elections to 16 in an effort to increase community engagement and voter turnout from a young age, one ballot clerk said that she felt the change would not positively impact places like Claremont.
“I don’t think it would help. [Young voters] didn’t turn out during the [presidential] primaries… There doesn’t seem to be that much civic reaction among young people.”
Roark brought up the point that 16-year-olds would then need to acquire documentation that is currently reserved for those ages 18 and over.
“Plus they are going to need the types of voter identification that anyone would need in order to vote in presidential elections which they may not have,” Roark said. “But there are not many young people who come out to participate when they turn 18.”
In Ward 1, 290 ballots were cast, equating to 16% of total registered voters. In Ward 2, 434 ballots were cast, equating to 18% of total registered voters. In Ward 3, 323 ballots were cast, equating to 15% of total registered voters. In total, 1,047 out of 6,332 registered voters made it to the polls on Tuesday in Claremont.
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