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Seth Rolbein's avatar

Interesting survey out today of Massachusetts residents, broken down by county, with the question: Do you know the name of your sheriff? State-wide, only about 20 percent said yes. In Barnstable County, about 18 percent. I believe it was the Massachusetts ACLU that commissioned the survey, hoping to build visibility and awareness for this important public position.

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Meghan Fleck's avatar

18 percent know their sheriff in Barnstable yet 61% voted for Cummings last election. Those numbers don't add up.

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Seth Rolbein's avatar

Here's how to see it: The 18 percent is from a survey of the entire population. Unfortunately only a small percentage vote. The 61 percent were of those who voted, and among them are plenty of people who vote a straight party ticket, or for the incumbent, even if they don't really know candidates for a number of the positions "down ticket." So I think that combination explains it. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure Sheriff Cummings had an opponent in the last election.

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Cape Robin's avatar

Thanks Seth for an excellent explanation of this embarrassment to Barnstable.

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Mary Ann Jones's avatar

Thank you for all this much needed information.

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