First General Election with Paper Balloting Appears to Go Smoothly

As droves turned out across the territory Tuesday to cast their votes for the V.I. Legislature and Delegate to Congress, the newly instituted policy of allowing all voters to cast paper ballots appeared to be going smoothly, with vastly more St. Croix voters taking that option than voters on St. Thomas and St. John.

Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows. And it could be said Tuesday, politics has no age limits, as displayed by two pint-sized electioneers posted outside Addelita Cancryn Junior High School. Ge’Quan and Genene Aubain gave it their all for senatorial aspirant Alma Francis-Heyliger.

While their parents looked on, the tots explained their reasons for supporting Heyliger. "Because she’s number 13," said Ge’Quan.

Ignoring a bit of coaching from her parents ("Say because she will made St. Thomas better!”), Genene said, "Because we like her."

Although the electioneers outside Cancryn on Tuesday were much fewer in number, and far more subdued than in the September primary election, veteran Cancryn election judge Ivy Williams said the 480 citizens who had voted by 2 p.m. was a good number.

For the record, of those 480, only seven had used paper ballots.

There was a lot of camaraderie going on between the folks who were spending the day standing in the sun for their candidates. Roy Wattlington, staunch senatorial candidate Myron Jackson supporter, dutifully spent the day waving signs and greeting folks; Cancryn science teacher Anna Francis, who was solidly behind senatorial candidate Clarence Payne; and art teacher Kukumba Ola-Nini holding high a sign for Stephen "Smokey" Frett.

On St. Croix, paper ballots were markedly more popular all over the island, with a generally increasing proportion as one moved westward. At Pearl B. Larsen Elementary, east of Christiansted, 72 had opted for paper ballots out of more than 600 voters – less than 12 percent, but vastly more than at Cancryn on St. Thomas.

"The majority of people are using the machines, saying, "Why go back in time?" but at least we have the option for them if they want it," said election judge Carmen Gomez Tuesday afternoon.

At Juanita Gardine Elementary, just west of Christiansted town, 408 had cast votes by machine and 97 using paper ballots by noon, for 505 votes total – meaning more than 19 percent of the ballots were paper. By 2 p.m., 109 paper ballots had been cast.

Skipping across to the western end of the island, Claude O. Markoe Elementary had seen 376 voters as of 3 p.m., of which 102 requested paper ballots – more than 27 percent.

St. Gerard’s Hall voters voted in a separate area of Claude O. Markoe this year. For St. Gerard’s Hall, 215 had voted as of 3 p.m., of whom 59 – or 27 percent – chose paper ballots.

"Turnout has been a little higher than usual for an off year," said election worker Elaine Spencer.

At 3:30, a long line of waiting voters snaked though Alexander Henderson Elementary. At that time, 1,067 had already voted, of whom 214, or 20 percent, had requested paper ballots.

This year, the Election System is using both new electronic poll books and the familiar black bound notebooks of registration cards as a step toward switching over completely, said St. Croix Elections Board Chairman Rupert Ross. Using both systems slowed down the process somewhat, but had to be done to ensure a smooth transition from one system to the other, he said.

St. Croix Board of Elections member Dodson James said the elections board and officials were ready for the influx of paper ballots. "We are preparing to begin the count tonight and see how far we get," he said. "But due to the amount of paper ballots it will be impossible to do all of it tonight. So we will pick it up again tomorrow," James said.

Polling places all over the big island were lively, with supporters waving signs and shouting cheers for their favorite candidates to passing drivers who honked in response.

"I’m for (Sammuel) Sanes, because he’s a good man," said Ines Eduardo of St. Croix, who was out with a group of like-minded supporters in bright yellow Sanes T-shirts. “He works hard and never lies to the people,” she said.

"Pei (Pedro Cruz) has a plan to address our most serious problems," said supporter Viutty Rollan, crediting Cruz with getting a ballpark built, roads fixed, the fish market in La Reine built and other practical accomplishments while serving as mid-island administrator in the Gov. Roy Lester Schneider administration.

A group of women by Pearl B. Larsen waved signs for Kenneth “Kenny” Gittens and John Canegata.

Of Gittens, Lorraine Matthew of St. Croix said, "He has a plan for the public schools, energy and crime. These are the areas we are not great in right now and he has a platform to bring it back," she said. "With progress, there is change," she said, echoing Gittens’ campaign slogan.

Some voters were less sanguine and quieter about who they supported.

"I tried to vote for the most qualified people and those who really care about St. Croix," said Claire, a St. Croix resident who asked not to use her last name.

With 32 candidates vying for the seven St. Croix Senate seats, there were simply too many to fully vet, and the fact that a high proportion were running as independents made it that much more difficult to determine who stood for what, she said. "And the people running need to have some basic qualifications, whether a bachelor’s degree or something else," she said. "Too many go into politics just for the perks. We need more serious people," Claire said.

Change was on the minds of many voters who turned out at St. John’s Cruz Bay and Coral Bay polling places.

“We are getting rid of all those criminals,” Lew Sewer said, adding that “it’s not what you can thief from your county; it’s what you can do for your country.”

While others voters used words not quite as strong, it was clear that St. John residents wanted new faces and fresh ideas in the Legislature. They also want senators that will pay attention and understand St. John issues.

Myrtle Barry said that while she looks for community involvement in the candidates she picks, she also wants someone she can trust.

“You’re voting and trusting an individual, but most of the time you’re actually hoping,” she said.

In Coral Bay, Alvis Christian said about the same thing in different words, adding that he voted for candidates who seemed to grasp how to make laws.

“I see that was missing in many candidates,” he said.

The fact that there were 35 candidates on the ballot for seven St. Thomas/St. John seats posed challenges for many voters.

“There are an awful lot of issues so I matched the issues with the candidate,” Emmanuel Boyd said.

The number of supporters waving placards seemed much lighter than usual in Coral Bay, given the large number of candidates, but in Cruz Bay, the street in front of the polling place at Julius E. Sprauve School looked fairly typical for an election day without a gubernatorial vote.

Several supporters said they expected their candidates to stop by. Senatorial candidate Clifford Graham was enjoying a morning snack with his supporters set up across from the Guy Benjamin School polling place when a reporter came by.

“Coral Bay is an important constituency,” he said, ticking off property taxes, high insurance rates and the fact that St. John has only one gas station as some of the island’s issues.

Candidate Myron Jackson was on hand in Cruz Bay, and said he favors the construction of a new school that would end the commute to St. Thomas that current St. John public high school students face.

“I don’t buy the concept St. John doesn’t have enough students,” he said.

Things went smoothly at both polling places, according to those in charge at the two locations.

Judges Yvonne Wells and Gwen Hyndman said more people than usual wanted paper ballots.

Myrtle Barry was one of them. She said she was certain the voting machines were not properly certified.

“People interested in a quick tally of results should be interested in a slow accurate counting,” Barry said.