Election night brings heartbreak and triumph in Marion County
May 15—FAIRMONT — Around 9:30 p.m., a mirage presented itself to members of the Marion County Humane Society.
Their levy measure sat stubbornly at 59.84%. The Humane Society needed to clear a threshold of 60% to win approval. Jon Thobois, MCHS treasurer, said 10 votes stood between victory or defeat.
Fifteen minutes later, the results updated. The tally went downward, by about two points, to 57.96%.
Humane Society Director Jona Spatafore's hands clutched her sinuses. After cupping her eyes, she retreated outside. The levy would not pass the primary. The Humane Society will have to try again in November.
"Today was a sad day for the animals," Spatafore said. "A very sad day."
The defeat of the Humane Society levy was just one of the closely watched races that took place Tuesday on election night. A third of Marion County turned out to vote, deciding several county-level races for nonpartisan seats and ballot measures.
The day was far from smooth for County Clerk Julie Kincaid.
"We began the day with some machine issues at a few different precincts," she said. "Thankfully, we were able to get those resolved."
Between replacing poll workers who called out and rolling out new machines where there were issues, it all added up to a chaotic day. However, despite the day's challenges which resulted in a few delays, Kincaid said that overall, the election went well.
Kincaid wasn't the only one having issues. The West Virginia Secretary of State's website also posted inaccurate numbers at times, displaying a 16% turnout for the county by the end of the night. Kincaid emphasized that number was incorrect, and to rely on the one provided by her office.
Kincaid said turnout was at an all time low. Part of what caused the chaos was that fewer people than expected utilized early voting. That led to a surge at the polls on election day, which temporarily swamped poll workers' ability to process voters. She also touched on election security, saying the results were in a closed circuit system with no connection to the internet. All the machines are also tested before election day.
"We're very confident in our process," she said.
Kincaid added that no outside groups tried to monitor or interfere at election precincts.
Over at Omni Architects on Jefferson Street, Marion County Circuit Court Judge candidate Matt Delligatti watched the returns roll in. He won his race and will be the next judge serving the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Division 2, joining the ranks of Fred Fox and David Janes.
"It's a great honor," he said. "I hope I can live up to that."
Delligatti thanked his family and supporters for his success. He also addressed the smear campaign that took place last week. An unknown party placed signs in various outdoor locations claiming Delligatti wanted to defund the police. Delligatti said he responded to the accusations by telling the truth about the matter in the final days of campaigning.
"It was a cowardly move," he said. "I don't know who put them up but I'm hopeful they'll figure it out. Aside from being untrue, it would be improper for me as a judge to have a position on that. When it comes down to it, people in Marion County know me and what I stand for."
Despite elections bringing out the worst in people at times, he said he nonetheless was honored to be selected for the judgeship.
Back at the election center, the Humane Society took stock. Spatafore attributed the loss to residents not understanding why the society wanted the levy.
"It wasn't about paying off the building, we were going to use the levy money for our regular operations to take care of the animals," she said. "We were going to continue to fundraise to pay off our building."
Spatafore said the loss means the society won't have the capacity it needs to help all the animals who need help in the county.
"We won't be able to help them," she said. "It's a real shame."
The General Election is Nov. 2.
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
