Via the Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the White River Valley Herald
Reporters from UVM’s Community News Service came to the White River Valley’s First Branch on Election Day to talk with voters and collect some thoughts as they made their way to the polls in Tunbridge and Chelsea.
2:29 p.m. – Chelsea voter exercises her preference of voting in person
Tara Goreau said you have to participate in the election to have the right to gripe about things later.
“It’s hard to complain when you haven’t participated,” she said.
Goreau was bundled up against the November chill. The 36-yearold artist, farmer and bus driver cast her vote at the Chelsea Public Library and Town Hall.
Goreau said several issues brought her to the polls, including state government spending.
“I believe in social spending, to a point,” she said.
Although she likes the idea of a mail-in ballot, Goreau enjoys the security that comes with casting your vote in person.
“You know it is there, and there are no worries about it being lost in the mail,” she said.
2:33 p.m. – Mail-in voter shows up at polls to check on ballot
This year, Bob Frenier voted by mail for the first time. But he came to Chelsea’s polling place to make sure his ballot had been received.
Frenier, 78, walked hand in hand with his wife as they exited the Chelsea Public Library and Town Hall.
After always voting in person, Frenier opted this year to submit his ballot by mail. But he still found time to make his way to the hall to ensure his ballot arrived safely.
“I love coming to the polls, and I was feeling bereft that I hadn’t,” he said.
When asked what motivated him to vote, he pointed to his Trump campaign hat.
“Vermont is going to vote for Kamala, but I have been voting for a long time and wanted to keep going,” he said.
2:37 p.m. – Longtime resident
Snook Downing shook hands and clapped the backs of neighbors as he walked into Chelsea Public Library and Town Hall to cast his vote.
Snook has lived in Chelsea his whole life and works part-time for the town.
Snook said he voted to oppose two Democrats: state Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Mark MacDonald doesn’t represent Orange County,” he said
Wearing a red Trump hat, he said immigration was a main concern.
“We don’t need another 30 million people coming into the country when we can’t find homes for the people we got,” he said
3:27 p.m. – Tunbridge voter emphasizes the importance of community
Rose Terami, 22, has lived in Tunbridge for her whole life. This is her second election voting.
“Community means a lot to me,” she said. “(I’m) trying to have the most positive impact I can on my generation, my community, my state and my country.”
She enjoyed running into familiar faces at the polls.
“I think it’s kind of fun to come out and see a lot of people I know in my community all here. Maybe we have different opinions about some things, but we’re all coming out, and that’s what matters,” she said.
3:34 p.m. – Lifelong Tunbridge residence expresses worry for his state and country
Raymond Young, 77, joked self-effacingly that he “used to be young.”
He is a lifelong Tunbridge resident and voted in person “out of habit.”
Young chose to cast his vote this afternoon because of concern for both his home state and the country as a whole.
“I just think things are getting out of hand in Montpelier, and things are out of hand in Washington too, so I’m hoping to change things a little bit,” he said.
As for Vermont, he said, “in our state, I think we’ve just gotten way too liberal: Too much giving stuff away (is) making it hard for natives to live here.”
3:49 p.m. – Tunbridge mother teaches her children about the voting process
Jacqueline Garran, 38, grew up in Vermont and has lived in Tunbridge for about 11 years. She comes out in person to vote every election, and always brings her family along.
“I feel comfortable getting out and showing (my children) more than sending in a piece of paper,” she said. She likes “making (voting) a community thing.”
Her two children accompanied her into Town Hall to cast her vote, peppering her with questions like, “Why do you put the paper in that machine?”
She voted in support of “women’s rights (and) childcare affordability.” After pausing for a moment, she added, “Mostly women’s rights.”