I had to post this here, because I can't get over it. Don't let anyone tell your vote doesn't count (especially if you're *not* in an electronic-voting region, ahem).
I live in a tiny little left-leaning country town, mixed income, ranging from lower-middle-class to upper. For the past year or so the town has been bitterly torn over whether to earmark just over a million bucks for our new library. Our current library is the tiniest thing you've ever seen, a little hole in the wall with no running water, and it's a 10-20 minute drive to another town with a real library. I've supported the new library, though not actively. Plenty of people, though, just vehemently don't want their taxes to go up, even ten bucks a month, which is about what it would be. Well, we've now had two votes on this. We have this "override" process wherein you can keep re-vote on things if the Town Council agrees on it (I think that's how it goes). The latest vote was two weeks ago, and it ended in a 522-522 tie. Incredible. Then a "provisional vote" was counted after the fact, and my side went up by one. Then there was a re-count, and it's tied again, and a tie vote loses. So as of now no new library, though the decision is going to be challenged in court. The contentious issues are around questionable statuses of specific people who have dual residencies or are in the process of moving.
Pretty wild. As I see it libraries are an amazing anomaly in the capitalist landscape. A place where you can get books and DVD's for *free*?? They're also great meeting spaces- neutral, intellectual, innocent- I've loved them since I was a little child. But some people don't think they have an extra $125 a year to spend, and these days I can *almost* understand that.
http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/01/26/on ... shutesbury
Once again, tie vote defeats new library in Shutesbury
By BEN STORROW
Staff Writer
Thursday, January 26, 2012
SHUTESBURY - The vote over a new Shutesbury library is tied - again.
A recount Wednesday of the Jan. 10 vote over whether residents would approve $1.4 million in funding for a $3.5 million library project saw the town Board of Registrars throw out one vote in favor of the library, leaving the final vote tally at 522-522. The tie means the question fails.
But even that does not appear final because supporters of the project signaled that they intend to challenge the board's decision in court.
"While I appreciate the efforts of the citizens that serve, the Board of Registrars' inconsistency in considering several residents' right to vote and clear factual evidence may mean that professionals with expertise in election law may be needed to evaluate the situation accurately," said supporter Michael DeChiara, reading from a statement in an interview following the recount.
However, it is unclear whether supporters will be able to file and resolve a lawsuit before state money for the project expires. The town has until Jan. 31 to accept the $2.1 million library construction grant it received last year from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to help fund the project.
Karen Traub, chairwoman of the library trustees, said supporters would go to the state board's Feb. 2 meeting to ask for an extension.
Opponents of a new library, meanwhile, expressed thanks for the result and said they hope the matter had finally been settled.
"It's not jubilation, but gratification," said Robert Groves, a leading opponent of the measure, describing his feelings about the outcome. "This is what we wanted, this is what we worked for."
He added about the possibility of a court case brought by supporters, "If they do that, it's really unfortunate for them to just push, push, push."
Wednesday's recount was the twist in a long debate over whether to build a new library here. Voters first approved the project by the exact two-thirds margin needed at an Oct. 25 special Town Meeting. But a week later, voters rejected a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override by a 423-382 ballot vote. The Select Board then called for a revote.
When voters went back to the polls Jan. 10, the vote ended in a 522-522 deadlock.
That tally also did not stand. A provisional ballot not included in the initial result was ultimately ruled eligible and counted, which meant the library was approved 523-522. That decision prompted opponents to petition for Wednesday's recount at the elementary school.
Challenged ballots
The issue going into the night largely centered around seven challenged ballots, each of which was reviewed by the Board of Registrars to determine if it should be counted. All seven challenges related to voters' residency status.
Attorneys from both sides presented their case for or against each ballot to the Board of Registrars, arguing over factors such as an individual's voting registration, their residency and the location of their employment. The board confided privately before announcing their decision to either count or throw out each challenged ballot.
Residents watched in silence while a separate group of election officials worked to recount the other votes.
Ultimately, six of the votes were upheld while one was thrown out. It was a vote in favor of the library and belonged to Christopher Buck, who had been registered as living at 5 Montague Road. The Board of Registrars unanimously voted to throw out his vote after determining Buck had registered to vote in Kentucky in December.
Buck has not sold his family's home and instead leasing is it while away, DeChiara said, saying that Buck and his wife, along with their three children, intend to return to Shutesbury.
Attorney Alan Seewald, who represents library opponents, said that did not matter. Buck had registered to vote in Kentucky as a resident of that state under the penalties of perjury, Seewald said.
"Mr. Buck's recent conversion back to believing in his Shutesbury residency is coincidental to this hearing," Seewald said, noting that Buck has maintained a full-time job in Kentucky for at least two years.
Speaking of Buck's decision to register in Kentucky, Seewald added, "This is what he signed. This isn't a credit card application, there is no fine print here. On Jan. 10 when this vote took place, this is the declaration Mr. Buck had made."
Supporters of the library said the board had been inconsistent in throwing out Buck's ballot and not disqualifying that of Joan Paczkowski, who voted against the library. Paczkowski and her husband, Richard, are longtime residents of Shutesbury who winter in Florida and had consistently voted there for the last 10 years, said Michael Pill, a Shutesbury attorney representing library supporters.
When Town Clerk Leslie Bracebridge announced that the vote was tied again, there was silence in the room. Bracebridge then pleaded for residents to come together after four months of campaigning that has left the town sharply divided over the library.
"This is about community tonight," Bracebridge said. "I don't know where we go from here. I dread the lawsuits and challenges in court. That isn't about community.
"They say a tie vote fails, but we came out even on this," she continued, concluding, "I thank everyone who has come out."
The crowd then gave her a round of applause.