Martha's Vineyard voters followed the rest of the state in backing businessman Donald Trump but supported Sen. Bernie Sanders over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's closely watched presidential primary.
Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton were declared the winners in the Massachusetts primary, and both were also projected to win the majority of the 14 states that held primary elections on Super Tuesday.
Vineyard voters turned out in high numbers for the primary, with an average of 47 per cent of registered voters casting ballots. The 2012 presidential primary saw about 13 per cent voter turnout.
West Tisbury saw the largest turnout, with about 54 per cent of registered voters coming to the polls, followed by 49 per cent of Chilmark voters and 44 per cent in Aquinnah and Edgartown. About 44 per cent of Oak Bluffs voters cast ballots. In Gosnold, the smallest town in Massachusetts, 36 of 138 registered voters (about 26 per cent) turned out.
With results in from all Vineyard towns and Gosnold, Mr. Trump emerged as the Republican winner with about 48 per cent of votes. He had the strongest support in Oak Bluffs, with 55 per cent of ballots. In Edgartown and Tisbury Mr. Trump had 46 per cent of the vote, and in West Tisbury he had 45 per cent of the vote.
Gov. John Kasich came in second among Republican voters on the Vineyard with 20 per cent, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio with 15 per cent and Sen. Ted Cruz with 10 per cent.
Mr. Trump narrowly won the Republican vote in Chilmark, with 28 votes to Mr. Kasich's 25. Mr. Kasich and Mr. Trump tied for first place in the small towns of Aquinnah and Gosnold.
Mr. Sanders was the clear winner on the Democratic side, winning the most votes in every town with 55 per cent of Democratic ballots. He won by the highest margins in Chilmark, West Tisbury and Aquinnah, with 58 per cent of the vote in each town. Support was highest for Mrs. Clinton in Oak Bluffs, where she received 48 per cent of the vote compared to 52 per cent for Mr. Sanders.
Election day weather was sunny and mild, and polling places around the Island saw steady turnout throughout the day. Around the Island voters sported “I Voted” stickers on jackets and fleeces.
Support for Mr. Sanders was visible outside some polling places. At the emergency services building in Tisbury, Tony Nevin held a sign supporting the Vermont senator by the pole distance marker outside the emergency services building.
“I’ll say this, I have had a lot of honks, beeps, and thumbs-up,” he said.
Inside, town clerk Hillary Conklin said a new voting machine was working well in its debut. A couple of men stopped to have a conversation about fishing before picking up their ballots.
Nancy Cole cast the first vote in West Tisbury. By afternoon, nearly half the town’s registered voters had cast ballots.
“We ran out of I Voted stickers,” West Tisbury town clerk Tara Whiting said, noting that there hadn’t been a lull all day. More than 100 absentee voters had also been returned, including one from overseas.
At about 5:30 p.m., the after-work voting crowd created a small traffic jam at the Oak Bluffs library. Those waiting in line chatted about school break while two men entering the building removed their hats. “Come for the voting, stay for the books,” read the sign outside the library.
In Chilmark, town clerk Jennifer Christy reported a steady stream of voters.
Mrs. Christy explained options to a voter whose name no longer appeared on the town list. "My goal is not to turn away any voters," she said.
In Aquinnah, Berta Giles-Welch and Carole Vandal stood across from the Old Town Hall holding Bernie Sanders signs. "Aquinnah is on it. We’re looking for change," Ms. Vandal said. "The first nations are in support of change for the people."
A driver passing by stopped to talk politics. "The nice thing is we pretty much know everybody," Ms. Giles-Welch said.
Town clerk Carolyn Feltz brought in extra counters, anticipating a high turn-out. Aquinnah and Chilmark still count votes by hand.
Early in the day the Edgartown the town hall meeting room was bustling; poll workers were armed with doughnuts and piles of ballots as voters disappeared behind red-and-blue striped curtains to cast their votes.
A total of 14,382 voters registered for the state primary in Dukes County. About 52 per cent are unenrolled, while 37 per cent are registered Democrats and 10 per cent are registered Republican. Thirty voters are registered with the Green-Rainbow party and 41 with the United Independent Party.
Heather Hamacek contributed reporting.
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