Almost 70% of registered voters in Winooski cast ballots this election.
The city saw 3,684 voters cast a vote in this election, and voters were still at the Winooski Senior Center polling location Tuesday until polls closed. Voters that night said the now-passed Article 22/Proposal 5 — the reproductive liberty amendment — was on their minds.
“Of course as a pregnant person, I feel a close personal tie to this issue but we all should,” said resident Lena Molinari.
She added: “I just always come out and vote for the same particular things in mind, who's going to care about climate change, the environment, women’s reproductive rights.”
For Nick Brownell Proposal 2 and Proposal 5 were priorities, but so were the races for lieutenant governor, the state Senate and the U.S. Senate. He hoped David Zuckermann, Tanya Vyhovsky and Peter Welch would win those races, respectively.
Patrick Saville noted how easy Vermont makes it to vote. “I’m trying to be better about coming out to vote all the time now,” he said, “especially here it’s very, very convenient to do so.”
For him, Proposal 5 was an important reason to come to the polls. “I think it’s very important because it’s definitely something that’s the individual’s choice,” he said, adding, “The government should have nothing to do with it.”
A lot of voters said they would have come out regardless of what was on the ballot to be a part of the democratic process. Mary Kate Rowan said, “We would have come anyways, but (Proposal 5) certainly was part of the total package of why everybody needed to have their voices heard.”
The country’s division also seemed to be a huge motivator of voters. Dhruv Shah said it “just seemed like an important time to make sure you’re casting your ballot and being a part of the process.”
“The country seems very divided so it seemed important to be apart rather than abstain,” Shah said.
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