Voting in Waterbury: Election Day scenes from the polls
November 6, 2024 | By Camryn Brauns, Tova Brickley and Grace Cook | Community News ServiceAlthough roughly half of the Waterbury residents who voted in Tuesday’s election cast their ballots early, there was a buzz of activity at Brookside Primary School where voting was taking place in the gym all day long.
A steady stream of voters, volunteers directing folks, and candidates stopping by for some last-minute campaigning made for a friendly social scene with many stopping to visit with the candidates, with friends and neighbors, and even with several reporters looking to find out what was on peoples’ minds.
Local election signs line the walkway outside Brookside Primary School. Photo by Camryn Brauns
School was closed for the day and a variety of campaign signs lined the sidewalk by the building’s front entrance. A few other signs thanked people for voting and alerted them that even if they didn’t bring the ballot they received in the mail, they could still vote.
Barbara Cipolla volunteers greeting voters outside Brookside Primary School. Photo by Camryn Brauns
Just outside the school’s glass doors, Barbara Cipolla greeted voters with a smile. She commented on how voters were very positive and respectful so far.
“I grew up watching my parents involved in elections,” she said, explaining how that motivated her. This year, said she wanted to get more involved in Waterbury and volunteered to spend some time greeting and directing voters.
Cipolla used to work in marketing. Now that she’s retired, she said she’s been volunteering to register voters in battleground states. “Marketing is what influences people to buy things. Politics is the same,” she mused.
This election, Cipolla said she thought a lot about where to get her information on politics and emphasized how important it is to support free and open journalism. Today’s information landscape makes it challenging for voters to get accurate information ahead of elections, she noted. “When I grew up, you trusted the news,” she said. “I’ve taken responsibility for finding my news from a lot more places.”
A short distance away, first-time Washington Senate candidate Donald Koch, a Barre Republican, chatted with voters passing by and shared some of his reasons for running for office.
Senate candidate Donald Koch, talks with reporter Tova Brickley outside Brookside Primary School. Photo by Camryn Brauns
“My father, Tom Koch, was the Barre town representative in the 70s. I’ve always been interested in politics,” he said.
“I want to do away with the super-majority,” he said, referring to the majority of Democrats and Progressives currently in the state legislature that is large enough to override vetoes by Gov. Phil Scott.
Koch told of how he had spent the past two days traversing Vermont. On Monday, he said he began his day at a Maplefields gas station at 4 a.m. before visiting five counties with Gov. Scott.
On Election Day, Koch was on the road again, visiting polling places across the Washington Senate district. He had already been to Braintree, Warren, Barre, and Stowe before visiting Brookside Primary School in Waterbury.
He compared his campaign travels to his work as a truck driver for 20 years before leaving his career in January to stay closer to home to care for his family and run his farm. Regardless of how the election turned out, Koch said he was hoping it could bring Vermont “some change and balance.”
An Election Day tradition
Election Day sign. Photo by Camryn Brauns
Inside the school, Jan Gendreau and Ann Stone sat chatting in folding chairs at a table. Both were there to volunteer and have been active community members for a long time.
“I love being able to see faces and people,” said Stone, adding that she enjoys seeing some of her former students from her 26 years of teaching science. “In-person voting generates a sense of community and connection. Election Day is very exciting.”
Gendreau, who had been volunteering at the polls, agreed and pointed out that this Election Day “has been a positive environment.”
They were at the donation table for the Waterbury Common Market, the local food shelf that provides free assistance to Waterbury-area residents. The Election Day drive for non-perishable food and cash donations is a tradition in Waterbury.
“People are very generous, dropping off bags of stuff,” Stone said, noting that several trips had already been made to transport donations back to the market on South Main Street.
On Tuesday, Common Market Manager Sara Whitehair called the one-day collection very successful. Monetary donations totaled $950 and the food items tipped the market scale at 275 pounds, she said.
Whitehair said she was impressed with the outcome given how popular early voting was which limited the number of people visiting the school in person. “A big thanks to Mary Miller and her crew for putting on this event for us!” she said of the volunteer organizers.
Voters share their motivations
Mary Koen and Marre Gervais at the polls. Photo by Camryn Brauns
Voters also were eager to talk about Election Day.
As she exited the gym after voting, Katie Gesser was quick to share her thoughts. “I love America. I really do. I love this country, and I love that we get a say in who runs our country,” the 28-year-old said. “That’s why I’m here – because I want to participate in that.”
Walking out of the school, Marre Gervais and Mary Koen were wearing colorful Kamala Harris shirts. Gervais said her vote was motivated by her support for LGBTQ+ rights. “Second only to reproductive rights,” Gervais said.
Koen agreed. “The little girls and women in our lives – we want them to have justice,” Koen said.
Gervais wasn’t there to vote. She said she voted by mail three weeks ago. “I came out to support her,” Gervais said, pointing at her partner. Koen missed the deadline to submit her mail-in ballot because she was in Atlanta volunteering for the Harris/Walz presidential campaign.
Reporter Grace Cook (right) interviews voters. Photo by Camryn Brauns
“It’s how we keep our democracy,” Koen said. “It’s terrifying. Part of how we got here was people not coming out to vote.”
Nearby, a family of three was headed into the school to vote.
Architect Brian Mac and interior designer Brooke Machelsen said they brought their daughter along to see them vote. “Our daughter was wondering if it was a physical race, like, athletic race,” Mac said, laughing.
The biggest race on the ballot for them was the presidential race. “We vote to flex our freedom,” Mac said. “Just say no to Trump.”
Student reporters with UVM Community News Service (left to right) Camryn Brauns, Grace Cook and Tova Brickley in Waterbury on Election Day.