Nov. 7, 2006 — While the Elections System was experiencing minor technical problems on Tuesday evening due to a malfunctioning voting machine, poll results as of 10 p.m. showed that Democratic incumbent Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone was the top vote getter in Tuesday's General Election, leading the pack on St. Thomas with 10,503 votes.
Following behind Malone were incumbent St. Thomas Sens. Celestino A. White Sr. (8,811 votes), Liston Davis (8,124 votes), and Louis P. Hill (8,011 votes).
Also winning Senate seats were former Sen. Carlton Dowe (7,653 votes), Basil Ottley Jr. (7,544 votes) and Alvin L. Williams (7,489 votes).
At Election System headquarters on St. Thomas, voting patterns became evident early on, with Malone, White and Davis bringing in the most votes when the first set of cartridges from the island were tallied around 9 p.m.
Dowe, Ottley and Williams also held a steady lead throughout the evening, beating out: the Rev. Toi A. Barbel (3,832 votes); Lorelei Monsanto (2,032 votes); Ludrick "Ludie T" Thomas (6,351 votes), Patrick Simeon Sprauve (3,582 votes); Horace T. Brooks (4,866 votes); Norma Pickard-Samuel (4,152 votes); and Stephen "Smokey" Frett (3,345 votes).
Senatorial hopefuls Ada Hodge and Leslie A. Smith II did not hit the 1,000-vote mark on Tuesday, coming in with 687 and 311 votes respectively.
Elections officials said the results are still considered unofficial until provisional and absentee ballots are counted. According to Lawrence Boschulte, chair of the St. Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections, approximately 591 absentee ballots have been collected thus far. "And there are still more to come," he said.
Officials could not say how many provisional ballots have been collected.
While officials have up to 10 days after the election to tally the remaining votes, Boschulte said the board will begin counting mail-in and walk-in absentee ballots late Wednesday afternoon.
Once the remaining votes are tallied, Elections officials will also be able to ascertain how many residents voted within in each district.
Despite the unofficial numbers, candidates were ecstatic, and a bit tired, when contacted Tuesday evening.
"It's been a long, hard road," Dowe said. "And once you get out of the Senate, it's always difficult to get back in. But I've always dealt with the issues that touch people's lives, and I don't think anyone forgot that."
After serving in both the 24th and 25th Legislatures, Dowe did not receive enough votes to make it into the 26th Legislature. Over the past few weeks, however, Dowe has received much recognition in the Senate as the sponsor of a bill calling for the establishment of a local Supreme Court.
After competing in the Senate race for the past four years, Williams' motto on Tuesday night was "the third time's a charm."
"I'm truly humbled that the people of the Virgin Islands have given me the opportunity to serve," he said when contacted after the final results came in. "I've been campaigning aggressively for the past four years, and everyone has heard what I have to say, heard what I'm about, and chose to put me in office. Im very grateful, and I want to say that I really, truly believe that I can make a difference."
Others winners said they were "looking forward" to seeing how the newly elected Democratic majority will work together over the next two years.
"I'm really interested in seeing how it's going to work out," Ottley said Tuesday. "And I'm really grateful to the people of the Virgin and Islands, and to my friends and family for supporting me and putting me in there."
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