WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- As expected, watchers of the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee election will need a little patience fo find out who won.

 

Williamstown posted on its website Wednesday that it will be at least Friday before the larger of the two towns in the regional school district announces any vote totals from Tuesday's election.

 

"The School Committee race was decided by write-in votes and tallying them takes time," the town posted. "Election workers review each write-in ballot by hand and record every vote individually. Accuracy is our priority.

 

"Mail-in ballots [postmarked by Election Day] have until Friday, November 6, to arrive, and those ballots will also be counted. A final count will not be available before then."

 

Two seats for Lanesborough residents and two seats for Williamstown residents are up for grabs on the seven-person committee this year. Residents in both towns elect all seven members, meaning residents in Lanesborough vote for both the Lanesborough and Williamstown seats and vice versa.

 

It took much longer than usual to get  results of the local races on election night due to the fact that all six qualified candidates' names were left off the printed ballot, requiring voters to do write-ins for all four seats.

 

At about 1 a.m. Wednesday, Williamstown Town Clerk Nicole Beverly told iBerkshires.com that she would not have results she felt comfortable releasing until after she got some sleep and could review the data with fresh eyes.