More city council results

The Sentinel has posted the voting totals:

Philip Dale Pregent, who did not run for re-election as mayor, was the top vote-getter with 1,522 votes; he was followed by incumbent Kris E. Roberts (1,256), incumbent Ruth R. Venezia (1,045); Carl B. Jacobs (925) and David Meader (721).

They bested Joseph W. Bendzinski (668), Robert B. Sutherland Jr. (645), Steven W. Lindsey (594), Dorrie Faulkner O’Meara (429) and Heika Courser (208).

I am surprised by some of these results. I was using the results of the primary to predict the results of the general election, expecting that the vote totals would be roughly proportional in both cases. This was largely true, with two glaring exceptions.

Steve Lindsey (endorsed by me) did worse than predicted. Bob Sutherland (endorsed by Ian) did better than predicted.

Lindsey has suggested that the order of names on the ballet would depress his vote total. (The order of the names is decided by performance in the primary, with highest vote-getters at the top. Since Lindsey tied for fifth in the primary with David Meader, the order of the two was decided randomly. Meader got the fifth spot, and Lindsey the sixth.) If ballot ordering was the cause, then that hit him particularly hard, costing him over one hundred votes.

At the moment, I have no theory to explain Sutherland’s strong performance.

I want to know what’s driving these two exceptions. It would be helpful to have a more accurate model for future elections.

Read more at Free Keene