To the Editor:
As I walked out the door on my way to town meeting, my wife asked if I really thought one vote counts. Ironically, as I exited the Aquinnah Town Meeting about 10 pm last night, I wondered the same thing.
Regardless of the merits of Article 17, there were 76 votes cast, 50 in favor. A two-thirds majority was required for passage. The moderator, deaf to challenges from the assembled voters, declared the question passed. However, factually, the vote did not rise to that metric.
This is but grammar school arithmetic that challenged the moderator.
2/3 = 0.6667.
50/76 = 0.6579.
Close, but not close enough; the vote fails passage by 0.0088 votes. Does 0.0088 vote count? It seems we are in need of some adult supervision.
The question remains: Who adjudicates such questions, after the fact?
James A. Glavin
Aquinnah