I biked to town to the Madison City Armory (polls are open until 7 p.m.!) to vote in the school board election. After I took off my voting hat and put on my press hat, I went around to all four tables and visited with the election workers—all nice neighbor ladies, all gentle but brave defenders of democracy—to get mid-afternoon voter turnout totals. I learned, among other things, that Ward 2 has 1212 registered voters... but that two of them are dead. The election workers assured me that neither dead person has shown up to vote.
Also pretty dead: voter turnout. At 2:40 p.m., I was voter #150 at the rural table... out of 1829 registered rural voters. Mary Kenyon came right after me and boosted the percentage to 8.3%. Here's the mid-afternoon tally for all four wards:
| Ward | Votes @ 14:43 | Registered | % turnout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural | 151 | 1829 | 8.3% |
| #3 S Madison | 72 | 1172 | 6.1% |
| #2 NW Madison | 119 | 1210* | 9.8% |
| #1 NE Madison | 212 | 3211 | 6.6% |
| Total | 554 | 7422 | 7.5% |
The noon surge wasn't as big as election workers expected, and given their experience, they think they may already have more than half of the votes that will ultimately come in. Unless there's an unexpected supper surge, we're on our way to seriously underperforming the 2008 school board election turnout of 20.6%, the 2010 school board and opt-out turnout of 24%, and this year's February 1 bond election turnout of 28%.
Whomever you want to win, get out and vote! Madison City Armory, until 7 p.m.!
And in case you're hoping I don't win, take note: In the 2008 election, Ward 2 and the rural vote gave me my highest percentages. So far today, those two wards have the highest turnout... and that's without counting dead people! Predictions, anyone?
Unbelievable… Borderline pathetic!!! Why is it the number of people who complain about issues always seems to be higher than the number of voters who turn out to cast their vote??? One vote CAN make a difference… ESPECIALLY in a local election!!! Doesn’t everyone understand that you can’t win if you don’t play???
Not sure who the poster above is, but I hope he isn't representative of very many voters in Madison. I am thankful for anyone who is willing to put themselves in the public eye to run for school board, whether or not I agree with their views. I think Cory would have been a good choice for school board as he would have thought outside the box while looking out for the students in this district. Thank you, Cory, for running a good race!
{CAH: Thank you, Linda... and don't sweat the fake-namer, whom I have deleted. Linda is not referring to Mr. Bice, who we know well! She is referring to an individual who falsely identified himself as "Heidelberger" in order to avoid taking responsibility for some cheap insults. It's just someone from out of town who apparently lacks the courage to put his name to his words, unlike you, Neal, me, and many of our neighbors.}