Markey wins big over Kennedy on M.V.

On the Republican side, it was O’Connor over Ayyadurai.

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Once again West Tisbury will be voting in the Public Safety building as early-voting gets underway. - Rich Saltzberg

Updated Sept. 2

In all six Martha’s Vineyard towns, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey outpaced challenger Joseph Kennedy by nearly a 2-1 margin, according to unofficial results released by town clerks Tuesday night. Oak Bluffs voters cast 814 votes for Markey, to 472 for Kennedy, in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side in Oak Bluffs, Kevin O’Connor received 80 votes, to Shiva Ayyadurai’s 46.
It was a similar story in Edgartown, where Markey received 641 votes to Kennedy’s 400. O’Connor out paced Ayyadurai 85 to 36.
And in West Tisbury, it was Markey, 764, to Kennedy, 293. On the Republican side, it was O’Connor over Ayyadurai, 34-27.
Aquinnah voters went with Markey over Kennedy, 125-59, and O’Connor over Ayyadurai, 4-3.
In Chilmark, voters cast 379 votes for Markey and 131 for Kennedy. O’Connor received 17 votes to Ayyadurai’s 10.
In a Tisbury twist, Ayyadurai carried the Republican ballot there, 46-44 over O’Connor. But it was the same story on the Democratic side, with Markey outpacing Kennedy 774-456.
The results on the Island are similar to what happened statewide. Shortly after 10 pm, Kennedy called Markey to concede the election to the incumbent, according to Politico. It marks the first time a Kennedy has lost an election in Massachusetts. On the Republican side, O’Connor was leading Ayyadurai by 60 percent to 40 percent statewide.
Although town clerks across the Island reported varying figures for mail-in ballots versus in-person, a significant number of folks on-Island chose to vote by mail. Oak Bluffs town clerk Colleen Morris said about 200 people came in person for early voting. More than 1,400 people voted in town, and close to 600 of those ballots cast were by mail, according to Morris.
“It still seems like the majority of people wanted to vote in-person in Oak Bluffs,” Morris said.
Early voting took place at the town hall, and the primary election was held at the library, as it has been in the past. Morris said the town had “all the provisions in order,” so that people could vote in person safely. No one was allowed in the polling area without a mask, but there was a separate area for people to vote if they had a health condition that restricted them from wearing one.
Morris said that apart from making sure everyone had enough information about voting, the task of adhering to health and safety guidance was a big job as well. “PPE is a job within the job,” Morris said. “We are taking all the steps to keep everyone safe, both ourselves and the voters.”
Morris said the state primary was a good opportunity for towns to prepare for the upcoming general presidential election. “This has to work because we have the presidential race coming up; it has to work,” Morris said. “Now is the time to reflect and tweak the process to continue to keep everyone safe, and keep the process rolling so lines move as quickly as possible and everyone is treated fairly.”
Despite a number of logistical challenges, Morris said she gives her team at the town hall a “10 out of 10.” 

“Not everyone is volunteering to do this, but people are stepping up for the process of voting. To me, there is nothing more patriotic,” Morris said.

West Tisbury town clerk Tara Whiting said her town was blessed with enough space to hold a socially distanced election day in the public safety building, with good ventilation and a horseshoe-style orientation, so people would not have to pass close by each other. “I think that for the most part, I am blessed because I was able to expand to still being in the public safety building, but using the ambulance bay as well,” Whiting said. Whiting said some emergency vehicles were moved so there could be more space for voters. For the general election, Whiting said, the entire bay will be cleared. According to Whiting, mail-in voting was popular in town, with more than 700 voters mailing in ballots. She also said overall participation was impressive, with a 43 percent voter turnout. “That’s huge for a primary,” she said.

A number of people who came to vote also volunteered to help out during the general election, which Whiting said is a huge benefit. “We are going to need a lot of help with that, so I am happy to see that people are willing to volunteer their time,” she said.

In anticipation of the general election, Whiting asked voters to read the directions for mail-in ballots carefully so she doesn’t have to reject any ballots. 

“If you have any questions, call the town clerk, and I will help you out with anything you need. We want everyone’s vote to count, and we want the process to be as efficient as possible,” Whiting said. 

Chilmark town clerk Jennifer Christy said the town took every precaution they could to provide a safe and secure space for voters. “I think everything went fine, although it is always a little difficult to be perfect,” Christy said. “We took every precaution we could, with lots of ventilation and lots of PPE.”

Christy said many voters chose to vote by mail, and there were a record number of ballots cast for this election. According to Christy, there were 544 total ballots cast on election day. 

There were 351 total early voters, with 74 being mailed in, and 42 absentee voters. On election day, the total number of in-person voters was 193, and the total number of voters in Chilmark as of the last day to register for the primary was 1,014.

Tisbury town clerk Hillary Conklin said in an email to The Times that her most current numbers reflect there were 836 total mail-in votes, with 779 early voters and 57 absentee ballots cast. During the period of August 22 to 28, 231 people voted early in person. Around 494 people voted on election day in total, according to Conklin. She said the early voting period and primary day were successful, with voters respecting the safety guidelines, and many people voting by mail. “We sanitize the voting tables after every voter, and only allow five voters at a time,” Conklin wrote. “Checkout tables have been eliminated, and that speeds up the process. Our office has been open to the public for months with a service window to receive ballots as well.”

In the Dukes County Commission race, Christine Todd was the top candidate with 3,235. Here are all the results:

Leon Brathwaite, 2,900
John Cahill, 2,860
Keith Chatinover, 3,168
Tristan Israel, 2,718
Christine Todd, 3,235
Donald Leopold, 2,433
Hunter Moorman, 2,107
Richard Wharton, 2,332

Seven of the candidates will move on to the final election. Moorman asked voters ahead of the primary not to vote for him, and received the fewest votes. The other seven candidates are most likely to serve, unless Republicans mount a successful write-in campaign. There were no Republican candidates in the primary.
State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot. Joseph Ferreira was on the ballot for councillor, and Daphne Devries for register of probate. There are no candidates for state representative, state senator, councillor, or register of probate on the Republican ballot, but Helen Brady is running for Congress.

Updated to add information from town clerks.