How Southborough voted – Herr by a hair, less support for Q4 and other anamolies

Above: Some Southborough voters had to stand in line to cast their votes last night. Our town beat the state average for turnout, but was down from past mid-terms. (Photo by Beth Melo)

Southborough voters were fairly aligned with the state/district in yesterday’s state election. But we did have our little quirks.

The most significant difference was that town voters would have replaced incumbent Senator Edward Markey with contender Brian Herr.

Other outliers were our selections for Treasurer and the Register for Worcester County Probate.

By precinct, there were also discrepencies, with rebellious precinct 2 going  against the grain twice.

The precinct was a friend to Patricia Saint Aubin in her unsuccesful bid for Auditor. And a slight majority tried to block Question 4. (Though, that was essentially a tie across all three precincts.) Notably, it was also the precinct with the lowest turnout by 3-4%.

As for turnout, it was good and bad. With 60% of registered voters at the poll, we beat the state average by about 4% but were down 7% from the 2010 midterms.

Want the details of Southborough’s votes by the numbers? They’re provided below. (Southborough’s selections are in bold. Winners are italicized and checked.)

SENATOR IN CONGRESS (State | Southborough)

• Brian J. Herr, Republican (38% | 50.1%)
• Edward J. Markey, Democrat (62% | 49.8%)

GOVERNOR & LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (State | Southborough)

• Baker and Polito, Republican (48% | 60%)
• Coakley and Kerrigan, Democrat (47% | 37%)
• Falchuk and Jennings, United Independent Party (3% | 2%)
• Lively and Saunders, Independent (1% | 1%)
• McCormick and Post, Independent (1% | 0.3%)

ATTORNEY GENERAL (State | Southborough)

• Maura Healey, Democrat (62% | 53%)
• John B. Miller, Republican (38% | 47%)

SECRETARY OF STATE (State | Southborough)

• William Francis Galvin, Democrat (68% | 61%)
• David D’Arcangelo, Republican (29% | 36%)
• Daniel L. Factor, Green-Rainbow (4% | 3%)

TREASURER (State | Southborough)

• Michael James Heffernan, Republican (41% | 57%)
• Deborah B. Goldberg Democrat (55% | 41%)
• Ian T. Jackson, Green-Rainbow (4% | 3%)

AUDITOR (State | Southborough)

• Suzanne M. Bump, Democrat (58% | 49%)
• Patricia S. Saint Aubin, Republican (38% | 48%)
• MK Merelice, Green-Rainbow (4% | 3%)

COUNCILLOR, Third District (District | Southborough)

• Marilyn M. Petitto DeVaney, Democrat (65% | 57%)
• Thomas Sheff, Independent (35% | 43%)

REPRESENTATIVE IN GENERAL COURT, Eighth Middlesex District (District | Southborough)

• Carolyn C. Dykema, Democrat (57% | 53%)
• Patricia M. Vanaria, Republican (43% | 47%)

REGISTER OF PROBATE, Worcester County (County | Southborough)

• Stephen G. Abraham, Democrat (48% | 51%)
• Stephanie K. Fattman, Republican (52% | 49%)

The following officials ran for re-election uncontested. I couldn’t find posted state/county results. But here’s how they did vs write-ins in Southborough:

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS, Fifth District

• Katherine M. Clark, Democrat (97%)

SENATOR IN GENERAL COURT, Middlesex & Worcester District

• James B. Eldridge, Democrat (98%)

DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Middle District

• Joseph D. Early, Jr., Democrat (98%)

QUESTION 1 – Eliminate Gasoline Tax Adjustments (State | Southborough)

• YES (53% | 58%)
• NO (47% | 42% )

QUESTION 2 – Expand the State’s Beverage Container Deposit Law (State | Southborough)

• NO (73% | 75%)
• YES (27% | 25%)

QUESTION 3 – Prohibit the MA Gaming Commission from issuing any license (State | Southborough)

• NO (60% | 57%)
• YES (40% | 43% )

QUESTION 4 – Entitle employees in MA to earn & use sick time according to certain conditions (State | Southborough)

• YES (59% | 50.02% )
• NO (41% | 49.98%)

QUESTION 5 – NON BINDING – Shall the State Representative vote in favor of a resolution calling upon Congress (Southborough*)

• YES (73% )
• NO (27%)

Want the town’s raw data? Click here for the Town Clerk’s un-official results including blank ballots and votes cast for “other” candidates.

*Note: I can’t find posted results for the district on the non binding question. I did find an interesting story that shows this as a precursor to a bill our that Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, plans to file in January. Click here to read.