NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The unofficial numbers for the school project debt exclusion vote have ticked up just a tad.  

 

They now stand at 1,450 yes to 1,315 no, a difference of 135 votes. 

 

A handful of provisional ballots are still to be confirmed but not enough to make any difference in the results. 

 

The turnout was 2,766 of the city's 9,872 registered voters, or 28 percent. City Clerk Tina Marie Leonesio said she was very happy with the numbers, noting the primaries lackluster showing of 12 percent. 

 

Unofficial Results

	YES	NO	BLANKS	TOTAL	VOTERS	PERCENT
WARD 1	280	336	0	616	2,040	30.20
WARD 2	269	243		513	2,045	25.09
WARD 3	217	187	0	404	1,664	24.28
WARD 4	406	298	0	704	2,107	33.41
WARD 5	278	251	0	529	2,016	26.24
	1,450	1,315	1	2,766	9,872	28.03

The narrow vote hearkens to a similar contentious debate back in 2013 over borrowing for the $30 million Colegrove Park school project. That passed by only 137 votes with 2,645 ballots cast. 

 

This week's vote saw 98 voters coming in to the clerk's office for early voting, compared to 11 in last month's primary. Leonesio said 1,540 ballots were mailed by request with a return of about 69 percent. 

 

There had been questions about signatures and inactive voters. The clerk said some ballots were returned without signatures on the outside envelope, less than one percent, and efforts were made to have these confirmed but some voters did not respond. 

 

Those who did not submit their city census forms so were removed to the "inactive" list in June. They were able to vote Tuesday by confirming their identity at the polls. That table had been quite busy and more staffing is expected for the coming general election. 

 

iBerkshires committed an error in updating on the election by referring to a "recount." This was incorrect and the problem was actually a tape calculator that was acting up, causing the number to be off. Another calculator was put into service and the numbers matched up. iBerkshires regrets the error. 

 

A few "no" voters referenced "irregularities" but Lenoesio said there was nothing out of the ordinary.  

 

The polls were busy and staff were aware of importance of the outcome. 

 

"We were double-checking, triple-checking, ensuring the process was what it needed to be," she said. "The integrity of the election is what matters to us."

 

Voters are encouraged to double-check their registration status online at the secretary of state's website or by contacting the city clerk's office prior to the general election.