Nov. 5, 2002 – As of St. Croix Board of Elections calculations at 3 p.m. Tuesday, 11,635 — or 42 percent — of the district's voters had turned out to cast their ballot on election day, board member Ana Davila said.
"It's a very good turnout," Davila said, adding her belief that the number would grow steadily until the polls' closing at 7 p.m.
Traffic slowed to a crawl outside Juanita Gardine Elementary School during the day as supporters solicited votes for their candidates along the roadside. Election worker Velette Lang-Alleyne said things were moving smoothly there.
About a thousand people had turned out to vote at the school by early afternoon, Lang-Alleyne said, but she anticipated that the numbers would pick up throughout the afternoon. "As a rule, people generally come in later in the day, so we're expecting a lot more," she said.
She also said the scores of people campaigning outside the polling place had not posed any problem. "No one has complained about being harassed or anything," she said, adding that "voters seem to know who they want when they come in here."
Morty Golden, candidate for lieutenant governor with gubernatorial candidate Michael Bornn, went into Juanita Gardine around noon to cast his vote. He said things seemed to be going well so far. "There's a silent majority out there who are not being paid to campaign," Golden said, pointing to those lining the roadsides in front of the school. "I think things are going okay."
With eight candidates vying for governor and dozens running for the Senate, one thing voters cannot complain of this year is a lack of options.
Still, St. Croix calypsonian "King Derby" expressed concern at his polling site, Charles H. Emmanuel Elementary School, about the election outcome. "The people of St. Croix don't vote on the issues," he said. "We as a people are not together. A lot of us deal with them [candidates] on an emotional level — we vote for who we like."
In Derby's opinion, this year's election is "the worst" he's ever seen. "There are so many people running for this one position," he said of the race for governor.
Perhaps pondering a theme for a future calypso, he added, "From the time we started to elect our own governors, this government been sinking." Once politicians are elected, he said, their honesty is compromised because they have too many obligations to the voters in such a small community.
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