As Goes Franklin ... a look at Franklin’s voting habits - Nov 3, 2024 at 1:15 PM

As Goes Franklin ... a look at Franklin’s voting habits over the last 140 years…

Keyed up about the election? Learn about how and why Franklin has voted for presidents going back to the time of the Civil War! 

Local history educator, Jayson Joyce, has been delving into archives and histories to learn about Franklin’s voting habits going back to the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln (yes, he carried Franklin), with lots of other interesting bits about how the town has voted right up to the 2020 election. 

Also look for some other bits of museum ephemera and visuals relating to our political past, on exhibit until Thanksgiving ... 

Museum is open 1-4 with the presentation starting at 1:15. 

The Event is Free. 

As Goes Franklin ... a look at Franklin’s voting habits - Nov 3, 2024 at 1:15 PM

Franklin (MA) Elections Voter Turnout History: from 2003 - 2023

The chart depicting the voter count and percent for the elections from 2003 through 2023 

Franklin (MA) Elections Voter Turnout History: from 2003 - 2023

The table of info most recently from Town Clerk Nancy Danello (and prior Town Clerks) (PDF) ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PEhv7D0uIHBxGyE42JQpVuoTEZLeibXF/view?usp=drive_link

2023 Year In Review Quiz Results or "Survey says ..."

Thanks to the 40+ folks who participated in the 2023 Year In Review Quiz. The results showed a great range and hence there is plenty of opportunity to do better next time around.

At the end of the results presentation, there is an opportunity to answer: 

What question(s) should have been asked?

Slide deck available here ->   https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19ydCQtfhUX9RpzZiBAe6omTTYcrNteoSZUUwfmKkDlg/edit?usp=drive_link

or PDF here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q_aOsoXrwTcyVfIHrBfJxZuXjzq5Ew9-/view?usp=drive_link

One key way to do better next time is to make sure you subscribe to the daily newsletter. Only one email a day keep you informed on what is happening in Franklin.  Subscribe -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

2023 Year In Review Quiz Results or "Survey says ..."

Override & debt exclusion info in the archives

Now that the "O" word (override) has been mentioned, there is a bunch of information in these  archives that may be useful to provide the historical perspective. 

Long time readers may recall that Franklin Matters came to be during the 2007 override and the domain officially was born in Nov 2007. 

The 2007 Override is noteworthy as it is the only successful override Franklin has passed in its history to date. It passed because there was unified support across the Town Council and School Committee. The succeeding overrides (2008 & 2010) failed because that unity did not exist. Some naysayers among the Council and School Committee created enough doubt and discord that success was unattainable. 

There also was a special ballot question on the State election of 2014 to provide $1.5 million to fund road maintenance that failed significantly. As it was a Sate election, Franklin turned out at 59% (normal for State elections) and 8289 voters said No, 3583 said Yes. https://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/10/ballot-question-5-dedicated-override-to.html

Coming out of the 2008 override failure there was recognition that a long term financial plan needed to be developed. A committee was created and began work on that in early 2010. The Financial Planning Committee changed to the Long Range Planning Committee. The first report they produced is now what we see each year when the Town Administrator publishes their 5 year outlook.

The Joint Budget Committee is the current working group to help with these long range and financial planning matters. They have not met frequently enough so we find ourselves now in a position where some folks understand the situation and many do not. The Joint Budget should meet more frequently (at least quarterly, in my view) rather than the annual meeting they have had in recent years.

The archive has links to collect the information pasted for each of the elections. 

• Franklin Override - 2007
• Franklin Override - 2008
• Franklin Override - 2010

There is also a spreadsheet with the specific ballot question history for both the debt exclusions (i.e. schools) and override votes. 

• Franklin Override - Debt Exclusion Vote History

Some of the links break as the Town and School pages were updated twice since then (and neither upgrade maintained link integrity). 

If you find a link that might be valuable for your research, let me know, I might have the individual document in my own archives and can find and update the link accordingly.

Additional archive links can be found in the Key Link tab https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/important-links.html

Lincoln St road work during Aug 2014

Town of Franklin: Official Results - MA State Primary - 09/06/22

Official results for the MA state primary held Tuesday, Sep 6, 2022 for the Town of Franklin have been certified by Town Clerk Nancy Danello.

The PDF of the Official results can be found online -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y9IoUmhymrgGmJxtp98G4K7k81aFLFkb/view?usp=sharing

Or on the Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/certified_state_primary_results_9-6-2022.pdf

Town of Franklin: Official Results - MA State Primary - 09/06/22

Economic Development Subcommittee meeting runs out of time to review the details MAPC shared - 04/06/22 (audio)

FM #768 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 768 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of the Economic Development Subcommittee meeting held on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 in the Council Chambers.  

MAPC presented a summary of the survey results which were quickly cobbled together as the survey had closed April 1. They also presented three scenarios for dealing with the MBTA community initiative and the meeting ran out of time to fully explore these ideas. (Town Council was scheduled to begin at 7 PM).

Copies of the presentation documents will be shared when available. The MAPC web page still touts completing the survey by April 1. 

The recording of the meeting runs about an hour and 15 minutes.  

Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-768-economic-development-subcmte-mtg-04-06-22

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Meeting agenda doc -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-04-06_edc_agenda_2.pdf 

My notes captured via Twitter during the portion of the meeting I attended (approx. 10-15 mins late due to coverage of the Board of Health meeting upstairs) 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jMCegUZ6abWjrXrR-FSS81XrXRIq1D1y/view?usp=sharing 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

1 of the slides shared during the meeting; copy of presentation to be shared when available

FHS D1 Cross Country meet results - Nov 13, 2021

Results from today's Divisional meet will be posted here -> https://t.co/Dn3Ex8VQl6

• Franklin boys finished 24th
• Franklin girls finished 9th

"Congrats to all the Franklin athletes that competed in the Divisional Meet today and congrats to Alex Batla who placed 6th with an 18:49"

"The girls finished 9th during the division 1A meet. Sophomore Alex Batla was our top runner, and finished 6th with a time of 18:49. Senior Charlene Peng (26th), Freshman Fiona Morrison (48th), Junior  Colleen Golden (67th) and Sophomore Emily Matteson (102nd) also scored."

Alex Batla who placed 6th with an 18:49

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinHSXC/status/1459530351051788288   and   https://twitter.com/FranklinHSXC/status/1459565191578980356  and https://twitter.com/FHS_girlsXC/status/1459656573555458050? 

Official Results - Town of Franklin Biennial Election - Nov 2, 2021

The official results for the Nov 2, 2021 Town of Franklin Biennial Election are now available from the Town Clerk's office. In comparison to the 'unofficial' results shared Tuesday night, no major changes are found in the finish for candidates of the contested/uncontested races. Other than a few votes added to this and that candidate, the blanks are filled in for all the races. 

What are blanks? 

Blanks are non-votes or perhaps a better way to explain it, 'under votes'. So a ballot has twelve candidates for nine seats (as our Town Council did), and if a number of voters mark only three candidates, the unmarked 6 votes per ballot/voter fall to the "Blank" category. They were not marked for a candidate so they are "Blank." This phenomena is seen in both the Town Council and School Committee vote results were the "Blanks" were high. 

The best example is in the Planning Board Associate role which had no candidate. 5550 folks did not vote this position (there were no announced write-ins, or any candidates listed) so those went directly to "Blanks." Jason K Mello apparently coordinated a write-in campaign to garner 32 votes.

5,754 was the total number of voters for this election. 24,465 voters were registered and eligible for a 23.5% voter turnout.

Official results from Town of Franklin page ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/pages/official_results_-_biennial_local_election_11-2-2021.pdf

Official Results - Town of Franklin Biennial Election - Nov 2, 2021

Franklin Public Radio: Election Night - This is big

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director, Franklin●TV & wfpr●fm 10/31/2021

It’s a big year for casting a big vote for a big field of candidates. Yes, big. We’ve been fortunate to bring the many candidates to the fore thanks to our tireless citizen media and information V.I.P.s, Frank Falvey, Steve Sherlock and Jim Derick. What they do for us – and for Franklin is big.

They are the engine of Local Access TV and Public Radio. They bring their wisdom, energies, and enthusiastic dedication to keep us informed. They believe in this grand experiment of America – in the democracy that we all idealize – that we all believe in – that we cherish and want.

To ‘want’ is a start. To get and keep that ‘want’ requires participation. Ben said it,  “Industry Need not Wish.”  A healthy democracy requires the industry of the many, and your vote matters. You can express your appreciation for our volunteer media V.I.P.’s – and for our candidates – many seeking volunteer positions. They put in their time and industry to make Franklin work. You can help. Vote.

Your vote is big – because it’s local. Local government is where your vote matters most. Your vote is a most joyful obligation and privilege. There are few private, sacred moments in life that are more satisfying than that pause, standing before the ballot box, completed ballot in hand, when you declare your wish and submit your considered choice. It’s a good time. It’s free. Don’t miss out.

Please vote. It’s big.

Tune in to 102.9 wfpr.fm for the election results after the polls close.

And –  as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. 
And, thank you for watching.

For the full TV and radio schedule -> http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf

Or go to http://franklin.tv/, Select "Past Shows" and then "Live", then "Play" and you'll view what is on the cable channel at that time.

Franklin Public Radio: Election Night - This is big

 

FHS results for Hockomock Gymnastics Meet 2021

Below are the FHS results from the 2021 Hockomock League Gymnastics championship meets. 

Note if an FHS person tied, I also kept the ties. In events where FHS was not first, I also listed those. Link at the bottom provides the complete listing from HockomockSports.com/

All-Around
1. Emma White, Franklin – 39.15
4. Kate Rudolph, Franklin – 37.2

All-Around Beam
1. Emma White, Franklin – 9.8
T3. Kate Rudolph, Franklin – 9.6
T3. Erin Hurley, Mansfield – 9.6

All-Around Bars
1. Emma White, Franklin – 10
6. Kate Rudolph, Franklin – 8.8

All-Around Vault
1. Erin Hurley, Mansfield – 9.7
T2. Emma White, Franklin – 9.6
T2. Lauren Fusco, King Philip – 9.6
4. Kate Rudolph, Franklin – 9.4

All-Around Floor
1. Emma White, Franklin – 9.75
4. Kate Rudolph, Franklin – 9.4

Individual Event Results

Beam
T1. Lexi Lupien, Franklin – 9.0
T1. Ashlyn Latham, Oliver Ames – 9.0
T3. Ashley Hammann, Franklin – 8.8
T3. Kate Heun, Franklin – 8.8
T3. Graceanne Kleinebreil, Attleboro – 8.8
T3. Elissa Praik, Canton – 8.8
T3. Klara Nagle, Oliver Ames – 8.8
T9. Olivia Reagan, Franklin – 8.6
T9. Peyton Rivers, Oliver Ames – 8.6

Bars
1. Ashlyn Latham, Oliver Ames – 9.0
3. Emma Nelson, Franklin – 8.85
4. Caroline Woelfel, Franklin – 8.7
T10. Colby Dunham, Taunton – 8.15
T10. Kate Heun, Franklin – 8.15

Vault
1. Sawyer Haverly, Oliver Ames – 9.4
T7. Abby Silrasy, Canton – 8.6
T7. Lizzie Brown, Franklin – 8.6
T7. Halley Grammer, Oliver Ames – 8.6

Floor
1. Elissa Praik, Canton – 9.25
2. Caroline Woelfel, Franklin – 9.05
4. Ashley Hammann, Franklin – 8.8
T8. Emma Nelson, Franklin – 8.65
T8. Klara Nagle, Oliver Ames – 8.65

For the full listing of gymnastics results

https://hockomocksports.com/hockomock-gymnastics-meet-2021-results/

 

 the overall results for the Hockomock Cup

 

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements

"Results are in for Hockomock Cup Placements!  Congratulations girls so very proud of you! 

@FHSSports @FranklinHS @KatCornetta @MetroWestSports @HockomockSports @fhsgymboosters @FranklinMatters @BuzzMyfm "

https://t.co/UdoaVG8OsQ

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/fhs_gymnastics/status/1366586890997043200

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements 1

Massachusetts - Electoral College Proceedings - Dec 14 - 3:00 PM

Electors of President and Vice President for Massachusetts convene to cast their votes in the Electoral College, with Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin presiding.

https://malegislature.gov/Events/SpecialEvents/Detail/371

Massachusetts - Electoral College Proceedings - Dec 14 - 3:00 PM

Supreme Court rejects suit to overturn election results

A round up of the articles on this decision to settle the election results

From the Boston Globe:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/11/nation/supreme-court-rejects-texas-lawsuit-overturn-bidens-election-victory/

The Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/11/scorching-reply-awful-texas-lawsuit-frames-stakes-moment/

The NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/us/trump-election-lawsuit-states.html

and The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/11/supreme-court-rejects-trump-backed-texas-lawsuit-aiming-to-overturn-election-results

In the News: "Mass voters reject ranked choice, but OK car repair measure"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Voters of Massachusetts said no Tuesday night to a reform that would have dramatically altered the way voters choose their elected leaders, rejecting a ballot question backed by a who’s who of current and former political leaders from both parties that would have allowed voters in future statewide elections to rank candidates in races with three or more choices on the ballot.

Voters approved the other ballot question, breaking in favor of giving independent mechanics access to wireless vehicle data to repair cars by a 3-1 margin, according to incomplete and unofficial returns.

Supporters of the auto repair question said their win at the ballot box would ensure that consumers can get their car or truck repaired wherever they want, but even after conceding defeat opponents of Question 1 said the Right to Repair Committee failed to show why the change was necessary.

Unofficial results showed voters favoring Question 1 by a 3-1 margin with over 93% of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20201104/mass-voters-reject-ranked-choice-but-ok-car-repair-measure?rssfeed=true

 

For more info on the Nov 3, 2020 election check the unofficial Franklin results on the Town Clerk page  https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk

 

Franklin, MA "Unofficial" results - Nov 3, 2020

The unofficial election results for Franklin, MA as released Tuesday, NOv 3, 2020 by the Town Clerk Nancy Danello

To download your copy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_sI-rdLmfxzXXdADdH5LGfdA66S9a4r8/view?usp=sharing

 

"Unofficial"	Topic	Yes	No	Blanks	Total
Ballot Question 1	Right to repair	14018	5260	519	19797
Ballot Question 2	Ranked Choice Voting	7529	11631	637	19797
Ballot Question 3	Community Preservation Act	11565	7370	862	19797

 

 

Franklin, MA "Unofficial" results - Nov 3, 2020

 

Protect the Results - Nov 4

Many people are wondering whether President Trump could be serious when he says he might not accept the results of the coming election.

 

Foremost among the organizations taking this possibility seriously is Protect the Results.  It has formed a coalition of more than 100 groups representing people nationwide who are concerned about this election.  The message is simple:  Count All the Votes.  They believe that any democracy rests on the integrity of its elections.

These people are prepared to stand out peacefully in public to convey this message if Trump tries to claim victory or stop every vote from being counted. Such events will probably begin on the day after the election (Wed Nov 4).  Similar demonstrations may occur on ensuing days, depending on whether disruptions to the democratic process are continuing.  

Protect the Results lists 379 different events across the country, including many in Massachusetts.    

 

Anyone wishing to participate in the event at the Franklin Common can get more information and can sign up at Protecttheresults.com. 

 

 

Protect the Results - Nov 4

Franklin, MA: Primary Results - Sep 1, 2020

A quick tally of voter totals by party shows over 9,000 voted in the Primary either in person, by mail or absentee ballot or via early voting.

Party	Voters
Democrat	7156
Green	16
Libertarian	43
Republican	1874
Total	9089

** Pending confirmation of the exact total of voters and percent registered from our Town Clerk, Teresa Burr.

Download a copy of the results PDF here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C9p4P1fVCdqVLjXEdWhUWGOKslmfRmHk/view?usp=sharing 

 

 

Franklin, MA: Primary Results - Sep 1, 2020

Primary day election update 9/5/20

Town of Franklin, MA (@TOFranklinMA) tweeted at 2:02 PM on Sat, Sep 05, 2020:

A primary day election update from Town Clerk Teresa Burr:

"The results from the State Primary will be certified and posted by the Secretary of State's Office on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Please contact the Secretary's Office with any questions at (617) 727-2828."

(https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1302306115246530560?s=03)

Primary day election update 9/5/20

“I thought I had them all. .... It was human error”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:  

"The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office will work closely with Franklin in the weeks leading up to the November presidential election, after about 3,000 ballots went uncounted on election night Tuesday.

“We will certainly be heavily involved in the office leading up to November,” said Debra O’Malley, a spokeswoman with William Galvin’s office.

Franklin was one of three communities, along with Newton and Wellesley, to have uncounted ballots as of Wednesday morning. About 750 ballots that were dropped into Newton’s secure ballot drop boxes in the last three hours of the election went uncounted, while Wellesley was unable to get to about 100 ballots, between late drop box submissions and absentee ballots.

But in Franklin, officials said, the Town Clerk’s Office missed about 3,000 mailed ballots that were processed in advance but not yet tallied, which is allowed by state law. The ballots had been processed (checking which residents voted), then locked into the town clerk’s vault, with the expectation that they would be counted on election day.

“They were in the vault and I forgot them,” Franklin Town Clerk Teresa Burr said. “I thought I had them all. .... It was human error.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200904/franklin-town-clerk-human-error-led-to-3000-ballots-counted-late?rssfeed=true

Via Twitter on Friday, and shared to Facebook:

Q - When will the town election results be published?

A = That is a good question. I would guess not until the results are final and official. In case you missed it, the State took over the count process.

Seconded by Town of Franklin:

"Steve is correct. The complete results are being entered by the town staff along with the Secretary of State. They are due by tomorrow but should be done today. We will post immediately when available and when the final results are certified. There will be no preliminary numbers."

(https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1301913940247695360?s=03)

“I thought I had them all. .... It was human error”

"disproportionate number of false positive results being reported from that lab"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:  (so separate from the fact that some tests can result in false positive results, this story reminds us all that the handling process to get the results is also very important. The quality control of this particular  lab is in question and we'll need the fulls set of retests to confirm what the real problem is.)

"Late Friday afternoon, the Department of Public Health disclosed that a commercial lab, which state officials did not identify, is under investigation and has voluntarily suspended all testing after state officials detected 130 false positives test results were reported.

The errors mean Fall River is being re-categorized from the red to yellow, moderate-risk category and Taunton is shifting from yellow to green.

DPH officials say the reporting issue occurred from July 30 to Aug. 1 and “resulted in a disproportionate number of false positive results being reported from that lab during that time.”

“The lab ceased testing when the issue was identified and is under investigation,” DPH spokeswoman Katheleen Conti said in a statement. “Test results conducted by the lab during this time are being verified by an independent lab, and based on results received to date, the Department has accordingly released updated case numbers and risk levels for the August 12 weekly public health report for Fall River and Taunton.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)   https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200815/fall-river-taunton-risk-assessments-changed-after-false-positives?rssfeed=true