As America stares down the barrel of a deeply polarizing election that pits Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris against Republican former President Donald Trump, many Berkshire County voters have already made themselves heard.
Early voting in Massachusetts began on October 19th, and continues until November 1st.
Tucked into the northwest corner of the commonwealth, North Adams is Berkshire County’s second-largest community, with just under 10,000 registered voters on the rolls.
“As of yesterday, closing, we had 2,175 either requests, returns- However, it could have been for mail-in and early person voting. Our total count for early [in]-person was 257," reported North Adams City Clerk Tina Leonesio. “I've only been here going about two years. So, these are the largest numbers that I've seen. “
In the face of a bitterly fought election that some fear might result in political violence, Leonesio says North Adams is as prepared as it can be.
“For the day of, I do a training with my poll workers beforehand all the time, go over anything that is specific to that election," she told WAMC. "I also meet with the chief of police and everything has been definitely set for any contingency.”
She’s not concerned that the city will see anything out of the ordinary.
“I don't think that there's going to be any issues, I don't expect any," said the clerk. "But in not expecting doesn't mean you don't prepare. So, you prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
Leonesio says she’s excited for what will be her greatest undertaking to date as city clerk.
“This is an extremely important event, and I love seeing that so many people are involved and voting,” she told WAMC.
In the center of the county, Pittsfield is both the hub of the Berkshires and its largest community. City Clerk Michele Benjamin is in charge of handling the votes of almost 33,000 registered voters.
“We've mailed out over 8,000 early voting ballots, and we have had almost 5,000 returned," she said. "We've had 698 people come into the office to vote since last Saturday the 19th, and also separated but similar is the absentee ballots. We've had 182 requested, and 119 have been returned. And I just did the percentage with how many voters we have, so, we've had 17.6%.”
She offered her projection for what the final turnout might be once the dust settles on the election. Similar to 2020, a final result may not be known on November 6th.
“Well, if we look at four years ago, we processed in office over 12,000 early and in-person ballots, and we had over 9,500 people go to the polls on Election Day, and it was a total turnout of 73%," said Benjamin. "I expect us to be at least at 73% if not higher.”
Like her colleague to the north, Benjamin isn’t concerned about any political disruption or violence around the vote.
“Fortunately for early voting, we are right across the street from the police station, and they are taking walks over, just walking through the polling location making sure nothing is, there's no disruption," the clerk told WAMC. "We've had a couple voters question things, but when we explain the process, they understand.”
In Great Barrington, in southern Berkshire County, town clerk Joshua Risen tells WAMC that around 1,130 of the community’s over 5,000 registered voters have cast ballots so far.
Saturday is the last day Massachusetts residents can register to vote. Clerks’ offices across the county will be open to add anyone qualified to vote to the rolls ahead of November 5th.
