It was the last presidential election for Vernon Town Clerk Tim Arsenault. He will be retiring in March after the annual town meeting.
Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons
It was the last presidential election for Vernon Town Clerk Tim Arsenault. He will be retiring in March after the annual town meeting.
News

Voters turn out with vigor

Eastes wins race for Windham-1 and Bos-Lun and Goldman retain their Windham-3 seats in the State House as Democrats see erosion of supermajority in Montpelier and a likely crushing blow on the national stage

-For political races both nationally and throughout the state, many of the outcomes of Tuesday's election were far from surprising, with almost 69% of exactly 26,000 voters in the left-leaning region backing the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Democratic Party ticket.

Harris and Walz won Vermont's Electoral College votes in a race that nationally, at press time early Wednesday morning, appeared destined to go to their Republican Party opponents, Donald Trump and JD Vance.

Incumbents Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, and Democrat U.S. Rep. Becca Balint also cruised to victory both statewide and in Windham County, and Republican Gov. Phil Scott won his fifth two-year term statewide, with parallel support from local voters.

And though Republican challenger John Rodgers of Glover statewide narrowly unseated Lieutenant Gov. David Zuckerman, county voters favored the Progressive/Democrat incumbent by a nearly 18% margin. Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Ian Diamondstone, of Putney, won almost 10% of the vote locally.

The real uncertainty for Windham County voters came in the form of several contested races in the Vermont House and Senate races, where, statewide, Democrats lost their veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

In Windham-1, which covers Guilford and Vernon, Guilford Selectboard chair Zon Eastes, a Democrat, defeated Republican Nancy Gassett of Vernon, 1,468 to 1,092. Gassett won Vernon, 646 to 562, but Eastes won Guilford, 906 to 446.

"I am humbled by the support of so many residents and voters," Eastes said in a news release. "Whether you voted for me or not, I pledge to listen to all voices in Vernon and Guilford and to represent the interests of everyone in our community to the best of my ability. Now more than ever, I believe that we can find solutions and move forward by working together."

In the two-person Windham-3 district, Democratic incumbents Leslie Goldman of Rockingham and Michelle Bos-Lun of Westminster narrowly turned away challenges by Republican Ryan Coyne of Rockingham and independent Casey Cota of Rockingham.

Goldman and Bos-Lun won with 30% and 29.4% of the vote, respectively. Cota had 26%, and Coyne was a distant fourth, at 14.6%.

A high turnout

According to the Secretary of State's office, more than 216,000 Vermonters - 40% of the state's registered voters - had already voted early. The state once again mailed ballots to all registered voters, and town clerks were ready.

In Dummerston, Town Clerk Laurie Frechette said more than 70% of her town's voters either voted by mail, brought then to the town office, or took them to the polls on Tuesday.

"I'm thinking we're going to hit at least 80% this time," she said. Her prediction was almost on the mark. Of the 1,612 registered voters on the town checklist, 1,317 cast a ballot.

Brattleboro Town Clerk Hilary Francis said 46% of the town's registered voters turned in their ballots early, and people were lined up at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street, waiting for the polls to open at 7 a.m.

"We had a line out the door this morning when we opened," she said. "I haven't seen anything like that before. People were excited to vote. It's great."

She said most people were pleasant. "There's always some who are having a bad day. That's sort of part of running an election, right? People are in bad mood sometimes, but most people have been wonderful and very pleasant, very appreciative, and excited to cast their ballots."

There were plenty of new faces, too. In Halifax, Assistant Town Clerk Tina Blais said she had at least 10 people take the Vermont Voter's Oath to become newly registered voters for this election.

"It's been a great day," she said, adding that several young voters have come to the polls for the first time.

As of early evening, 470 of the town's 650 registered voters had cast ballots. In the 2020 presidential election, 496 people cast ballots.

Whitingham Town Clerk Town Clerk Almira Aekus was passing a basket of candy to the table of election workers - election officials, Justices of the Peace, and Selectboard members - who were helping to check names off the voter roll and hand out ballots.

With a huge smile, Aekus said her town had "a crazy turnout, probably the best we've ever had."

As of 5 p.m., 750 ballots had been cast. Approximately 400 voters of Whitingham's 1,050 registered voters turned in their ballots early, she said. Aekus added that she had registered 10 new voters that day.

Aekus set up an area for election observers against a wall with a large and colorful mural. This year, no one has used it, she said, but in previous elections, some people have wanted to observe the process.

According to Aekus, anyone can observe an election if they wish.

Earlier in the day, a few people had expressed negative opinions about the 2024 election and concerns about early voting. But overall, Aekus said, the day's mood had been uplifting.

Security concerns

There was concern about security at some polling places, particularly in Guilford and Vernon, which went through a rancorous primary in August.

Tempers have run hot enough that Vernon Town Clerk Tim Arsenault hired a Windham County Sheriff's Department deputy to stand guard outside the town office on Tuesday.

"We were able to get a grant from a nonprofit called the Centers for Tech and Civic Life," he said. "I'm using a portion of the money to have a deputy outside the polling place all day because, given everything we've heard nationally about the tenor of this election and the fact that some jurisdictions around the country have seen dirty tricks, we wanted to make sure nothing like that happened in our town, but at the very least that we were prepared if that were to happen. And so far, it's been relatively quiet."

Arsenault told The Commons on Monday that, as two members of the town's Board of Civil Authority were feeding early ballots into the scanner at his office, someone was watching the process through the window.

"Just curious, I think," he said. "Glad someone cares enough to know more."

Arsenault said that after about an hour and a half of observing, "Our watcher left after an hour and a half, satisfied we were doing the right thing and that the machine worked."

Guilford didn't opt for a full-time law enforcement but had election staff greeting people at the door, according to Town Clerk Elly Majonen.

"I think that's really been helpful to have our Code of Conduct at the front door, and to have somebody greeting just to check in," she said. "And our greeter has had a walkie-talkie, so if there were any issues, they could just contact me immediately upstairs. And we could, you know, take care of things accordingly."

She said that she "came into the day being a little anxious, but we've planned a lot for this day. And again, it seems to be going smoothly."

In Putney, where 1,510 votes were cast, Town Clerk Jonathan Johnson said there were fewer early voters this year compared to 2020.

"Putney had 1,200 absentee voters [in 2020]. So far, we've had 900 [at midday]." The final tally when the polls closed: 1,009 early ballots.

The town hired extra poll workers, "just because we were anticipating a higher in-person turnout," he said.

And the turnout in person had been steady.

"Everybody's been minding their P's and Q's and behaving nicely," Johnson said.

By 4 p.m., Marlboro Town Clerk Forrest Holzapfel said no one had taken advantage of the town's campaign area. Ropes set apart the campaign area, and the policy for campaigning near polling places hangs from one of the ropes. Holzapfel noted that in 2016, some people's behavior in the adjacent parking area crossed the line into illegal so the town which spurred the town to create a designated area.

People arrived with strong opinions, but no one has caused any disturbances, Holzapfel said.

"We're trying to not make this a point of resistance but a point of access," he said of the polling place. About 89% of Marlboro's registered voters cast a ballot, an all-time high.

All quiet in the north, west county

Windham County's four northern towns - Rockingham, Westminster, Grafton, and Athens - all had similar Election Day stories: Early voting was very high, Election Day turnout was excellent, and there were no disturbances in the voting process.

"We've had a great turnout," said Grafton Town Clerk Kim Record. "We had 255 early votes, with a total 591 names on the checklist."

Grafton had nearly an additional 100 walk-in votes. When asked if there had been any voter issues or problems, Record said, "None at all."

Westminster election workers said at midday they had 1,356 total votes, including early voting, with a "steady voter turnout" throughout the day, said Town Clerk Mildred Beebe.

In Bellows Falls, Vermont House candidate Leslie Goldman greeted voters at the Masonic Lodge polling site. "I'm really excited by the turnout," she said. "It's really been excellent. And these have been very respectful campaigns."

Rockingham Town Clerk Kathleen Kelly said that with 3,959 registered voters in Rockingham, there had been 1785 total votes cast by midday Tuesday. Kelly also noted that there had been "zero problems" in the voting process.

In Dover, Town Clerk Andy McLean said, "I think we'll break 1,000," admitting it's his goal for the day. One thousand ballots cast would also be a new record for Dover. So far, the 2020 election holds the record with 956 votes cast.

McLean said 520 early ballots had come in as of Tuesday afternoon. Despite many voters' feelings of tension around the national election, for McLean, 2024 feels like a new normal after the upheaval of the pandemic in 2020.

"People themselves are more involved in voting this time around," she said.

Wilmington Town Clerk Therese Lounsbury expected the polls to be quiet, with only a few last-minute voters arriving to cast ballots. Instead, the day has remained busy and steady, she said.

This year's election has had the highest turnout of any she has overseen in her four years. As of Tuesday afternoon, 972 ballots had been cast.

When she looked at the turnout numbers earlier in the day, 609 early ballots had been returned. Wilmington has approximately 1,702 registered voters, with 1,400 of those verified.

Given the high temperatures around the national election, Lounsbury said she and her election team were more diligent in their emergency management planning.

Despite this due diligence, she said, fellow community members have treated the election team with kindness and respect.

Other House results from the county

• In Windham-7, the district that encompasses West Brattleboro, House Ways & Means Committee chair Emile Kornheiser, a Democrat, easily defeated Republican candidate Susan Murray. Kornheiser received 1,363 votes, while Murray received 646 votes.

• Incumbent Democrat Mike Mrowicki of Putney was re-elected in Windham-4. Mrowicki defeated Republican challenger Lynn Wilkins of Dummerston, 1,958 to 719.

• Emily Carris-Duncan of Whitingham, the Democratic candidate, won the Windham-6 seat being vacated by retiring incumbent Tristan Roberts. With 56.3% of the vote, Carris-Duncan defeated Republican challenger Pam Baker of Halifax, who got 44.7%.

• Windham-8 Democratic Party incumbent Mollie Burke of Brattleboro easily won re-election. With 1,566 voters, Burke defeated Republican William Harvey of Brattleboro, who got 323 votes and independent Ken Fay of Brattleboro, who received 69 votes.

In Windham-9, the downtown Brattleboro district, former Selectboard chair and local attorney Ian Goodnow, the Democratic candidate, was unopposed for the seat being vacated by Tristan Toleno, who did not seek re-election. Goodnow received 1,882 votes.

• Republican Thomas Charlton of Chester defeated incumbent Democrat Heather Chase of Chester for the Windsor-Windham district seat by a 38-vote margin. The district includes the Windham County towns of Windham and Grafton.

• Republican Janet Payne of Andover and Democrat Chris Morrow of Weston were the candidates in the race for the seat in Windham-Windsor-Bennington district, which includes Londonderry among its four towns. Morrow won the contest to fill the seat that opened with the retirement of independent Kelly Pajala with 60.1% of the vote to Payne's 35.6%.

• Only two members of the Windham County House delegation were unopposed in their re-election bids - House Majority Leader Emily Long of Newfane in Windham-5, and independent Laura Sibilia of Dover in Windham-2.

State Senate races

Incumbent Senate Democrats Nader Hashim of Dummerston and Wendy Harrison of Brattleboro both won a second term as they defeated Republican candidates Rick Morton of Brattleboro and Dale Gassett of Vernon and independent Ken Fay of Brattleboro. Harrison had nearly 38% of the vote, while Hashim had 31%. Morton was third with 15%, Gassett got 14%, and Fay had nearly 5%.

Bennington County was poised to elect two new senators as both seats became vacant after the retirement of Brian Campion of Bennington and the death of Richard "Dick" Sears of Bennington at age 81 on June 2.

The Bennington district includes the Windham County towns of Wilmington, Londonderry, Stratton, and Somerset.

The two Democratic candidates - current Bennington-4 Rep. Seth Bongartz of Manchester and Rob Plunkett of Bennington, a prosecutor in the Bennington County State's Attorney's office - narrowly squeaked a victory over Republican Joe Gervais of Arlington and independents Steven Perry of Manchester, former state Rep. Cynthia Browning of Arlington, and Lawrence "Spike" Whitmire of Shaftsbury.

Federal races

Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Brattleboro, who is completing her first term in Congress, easily defeated Republican/Libertarian Party candidate Mark Coester of Westminster, independent Adam Ortiz of Newport City, and Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Jill "Jessy" Diamondstone of Dummerston.

Balint, who finished more than 63% of the vote, was standing in front of American Legion Post 5 in Brattleboro at mid-morning, answering queries from voters and talking with her fellow Democratic candidates in the area of the parking lot designated for electioneering.

But she said she would not be making the rounds of polling places around the state. Instead, she headed home to spend the rest of Election Day making phone calls for Kamala Harris.

"To me, politics is about making a difference in the lives of regular people," Balint said in a news release. "It's about having courage, and leading with kindness and understanding. It's about always focusing my work on the people back home, here in Vermont. I'm so proud to serve working families trying to support their kids, farmers working the land, and small businesses that hold our economy together. That's what this work is all about. I'm looking forward to the urgent work ahead on behalf of Vermont."

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, decisively won his fourth term by defeating Republican challenger Gerald Malloy of Weathersfield. Sanders picked up about 64% of the vote, with Malloy a distant second with 31%.

Others receiving votes included Epic Party candidate Mark Stewart Greenstein of Brattleboro, a presidential candidate in 2020 and 2024, Libertarian Matt Hill of Burke, Justin Schoville of Barnard for the Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, and independent Steve Berry.

In 2022, Malloy lost by 40 points to U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in the race for the Senate seat that had been vacated by longtime incumbent Patrick Leahy.

Statewide races

The contest for lieutenant governor was the only statewide race this year that could be characterized as lively.

Incumbent David Zuckerman, a Progressive Democrat, was challenged by Republican state Sen. John Rodgers of Glover and Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Ian Diamondstone of Putney.

Rodgers sought the 2022 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Gov. Phil Scott, Vermont's top-ranking Republican, won his fifth term, easily turning aside the challenge of Democratic candidate Esther Charlestin, an educator and consultant from Middlebury; independents Kevin Hoyt of Bennington and Eli "Poa" Mutino of Barre City; and Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate June Goodband of Springfield.

Scott picked up nearly 74% of the vote, with Charlestin a distant second with 22%.

State Treasurer and Brattleboro native Mike Pieciak of Winooski defeated Republican candidate Joshua Bechhoefer of Cornwall. Pieciak received 61% of the vote to Bechhoefer's 38%.

Incumbent Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, a Democrat, defeated perennial Republican candidate H. Brooke Paige of Washington. Hanza got about 60% of the vote.

Paige was also a loser in his other statewide race. He was defeated for Auditor of Accounts by incumbent Democrat/Progressive Doug Hoffer of Burlington, with Hoffer garnering 61.5% of the vote.

Democratic incumbent Attorney General Charity Clark of Williston defeated Republican challenger Ture Nelson of Berlin and Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party candidate Kenneth Gustafson of Rutland Town. Clark got nearly 59% of the vote, while Nelson had about 36%.

Not official yet

While election returns were reported to the Secretary of State's office once the polls closed on Nov. 5, the results of the races will not be official until Nov. 12.

On that date, a canvassing committee made up of representatives from the three major parties, as well as Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, will meet in Montpelier to formally certify the results.

The full unofficial Vermont results can be found on the Secretary of State's website at electionresults.vermont.gov.


With additional reporting by Joyce Marcel, Olga Peters, Rob Smith, and Jeff Potter.

This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.

Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly updates