The nation voted to return Donald Trump to the White House Tuesday while Vineyard voters overwhelmingly backed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Vice President Harris, who has been a summer visitor for years, carried all six towns, garnering 8,988 votes to former President Donald Trump’s 2,721 on the Island, according to unofficial results.
About 12,000 of the approximately 17,000 Island voters cast ballots, meaning roughly 70 per cent voted.
Throughout election day, residents cited the turbulent economy, reproductive rights and concerns over the other candidate’s history as the reason for their vote.
Grace Collins, who was voting in Aquinnah, said she voted for Ms. Harris out of fear of another Trump presidency. She said she thinks it’s admirable how the Vice President put together a campaign in the past few months.
“I’m impressed with what she was able to do in a short time,” Ms. Collins said.
Supporters of Trump felt he was the better man for the job.
“Despite the fact that Mr. Trump may have some character flaws, he’s done a lot for this country in his four years,” said voter Jay Macleod.
Islanders also decided on a tight Martha’s Vineyard Commission race where Tisbury and West Tisbury seats were being contested. Ten people were running for nine seats on the regional planning commission.
But there can only be two people elected from each town, making for contested seats for Tisbury and West Tisbury.
Linda Sibley and Doug Sederholm, a pair of West Tisbury residents, snagged the two West Tisbury seats fending off a challenge from West Tisbury planning board member Amy Upton.
Ms. Sibley had 5,482 votes, Mr. Sederholm had 5,346 votes and Ms. Upton had 4,965 votes.
In Tisbury, incumbent Ben Robinson was reelected; Bernadette Budinger-Cormie beat out fellow newcomer Bill O’Brien, by a vote 4,669 to 4,086.
Though write-ins had to be accounted for late Tuesday, it appeared Jeff Agnoli (Edgartown), Jay Grossman (Chilmark), and Brian Smith (Oak Bluffs) would all be reelected to the commission. Michael MacKenty was also returned after his appointment for an abbreviated term, left by the late Edgartown commissioner Christina Brown.
There were no Aquinnah candidates on the ballot, though Janette Vanderhoop won 57 write-in votes in her hometown.
In other races, the Vineyard continued its support of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who defeated John Deaton, and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, who fended off Dan Sullivan.
Thomas Moakley, a Falmouth lawyer, won the uncontested race for the Vineyard’s state representative after beating Arielle Faria in the Democratic primary earlier this year.
With the nod from Vineyarders, State Sen. Julian Cyr was poised to return to Beacon Hill at Tuesday’s election.
Mr. Cyr, a Truro Democrat, held a commanding lead over a pair of challengers – Barnstable Republican Christopher Lauzon and unenrolled candidate Joe Van Nes, of West Tisbury – Tuesday night. With large leads in Barnstable and Yarmouth, two of the biggest towns in the district, as well as the support of all six Vineyard towns, Mr. Cyr was glad to have the region’s confidence.
“I’m so grateful to Islanders and Cape Codders for their resounding support,” he said after a celebration at a Provincetown brewery.
Statewide, Massachusetts residents were faced with five ballot questions. Here on the Island, the five Vineyard towns that reported results backed an effort to get rid of the 10th grade standardized MCAS test as a graduation requirement, in a vote of 7,003 to 4,677. The question carried in every town, and also passed at the state level.
Holly Mackenzie, a Tisbury voter, was against the requirement.
“There are so many checks and balances in the [school] system for education requirements , and I think a standardized test shouldn’t be the only thing that prevents someone from getting a high school diploma,” she said of Question Two, eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement.
Nancy Danielson, who works at the West Tisbury School, was also against the measure.
“I work in a school and I see how kids struggle with it, so I voted to eliminate the MCAS,” the Oak Bluffs voter said.
Islanders also mirrored the state in the vote to reject a proposal that would have gradually raised the minimum wage for tipped workers, such as servers and bartenders.
The question would raise the wage to $15 per hour by 2029 and allow tips to be pooled by an employer and distributed to all staff members. Overall, the vote on the Vineyard was 6,803 against, 4,649 in favor. Aquinnah was the lone town to vote for the measure on the Island, by a vote of 174 to 149.
Oak Bluffs resident Alex Vieira was one of the thousands of no votes.
“A lot of people are on both sides, but I listened to the people I know in the business,” he said, adding that he followed what he thought would be best for local tipped workers.
A push to legalize psychedelic mushrooms split Islanders. Edgartown and Oak Bluffs voted against the initiative under ballot question 4, while Tisbury, West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah were in favor. The measure ended up failing at the state level.
Henry Wallace, an Oak Bluffs voter, was one of the proponents.
“I hope everybody votes yes on question four because I feel it will help people with trauma and addiction with the way the law is proposed. We shouldn’t deprive citizens of that,” he said.
Addison Antonoff, Louisa Hufstader, Katrina Liu and Gwyn Skiles contributed reporting.
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