Dartmouth votes in record numbers

Nov 6, 2018

Despite the rain, turnout for the Nov. 6 midterm election was unusually high.

“I’ve never seen an election like this for a midterm,” said Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros, who has worked in the office for 26 years. The results released on Election Night do not include absentee ballots, which are added the following day, but do include the approximately 2,500 early voters.

Among registered voters, 10,418, or 46.64 percent, showed up to vote.

Several local incumbent candidates ran unopposed: Mark Montigny for State Senate, Christopher Markey for the State House of Representatives, and Thomas M. Quinn III for District Attorney. Frederick Kalisz Jr. also ran unopposed for the Register of Deeds.

Dartmouth voters supported the re-election of Senator Elizabeth Warren with 50.93 percent of the vote. Geoff Diehl received 45.81 percent of the Dartmouth vote, and independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai received 3.26 percent. According to the Boston Globe, with 94 percent of districts reporting, the state overall voted more strongly for Warren, who received 60.7 percent to Diehl’s 36 percent.

Dartmouth voters also supported the re-election Governor Charles Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito by a wide margin: 70.89 percent to Gonzalez and Palfrey’s 29.11 percent. According to the Boston Globe, Dartmouth voters were in step with the rest of the state which voted 66.6 percent to 33.4 percent to re-elect Baker.

Maura Healey, incumbent Attorney General, won the support of 59.76 percent of Dartmouth voters. Her opponent, James R. McMahon III, received 40.24 percent of Dartmouth votes. Statewide, Healey was re-elected by 70.2 percent of voters.

Incumbent William Francis Galvin was re-elected as Secretary of State and received 62 percent of the vote in Dartmouth.

Deborah Goldberg was re-elected as treasurer, and had the support of 57.78 percent of Dartmouth voters. Dartmouth supported incumbent Suzanne Bump as auditor with 55.99 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Joseph C. Ferreira was elected as Councillor First District, with 61.99 percent of the Dartmouth vote.

Incumbent Marc J. Santos, who received 79.95 percent of Dartmouth votes, will serve another term as the Clerk of Courts for Bristol County. Incumbent John Thomas Sanders was re-elected as County Commissioner with the help of 67.51 percent of Dartmouth votes.

Dartmouth voted decisively on each of the ballot questions.

A clear majority of voters, 68.54 percent, voted against establishing nurse to patient ratio limits. Across Massachusetts, 70.2 percent of voters voted no.

Dartmouth voters were in favor of establishing a committee to look at the impact of money on elections by 66.14 percent. Across the state, 71.5 percent of voters wanted to establish this committee.

Voters in Dartmouth chose to uphold a law to protect people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity by 59.65 percent. Statewide, 68.1 percent of voters voted to uphold the current law.