AARP Vt. director on what’s getting people 50+ to the polls

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermonters are heading to the polls Tuesday for the primary election and those aged 50+ will take up a sizable amount of the votes.

Greg Marchildon, the AARP Vermont state director, says Vermont is the second oldest state in the nation. That means more voters aged 50-plus will participate than in most other states and politicians should take note.

Marchildon says in addition to the open U.S. Senate seat and open U.S. House seat, there are two particular issues bringing those Vermonters out Tuesday.

“Obviously, we’re seeing inflation cut into how people are being able to make ends meet each month. And many Vermonters, many seniors live on Social Security and not much else. So they’re on a fixed income and they’re seeing the prices for food and gas go up and they’re also seeing the price for prescription drugs go up 5, 10, 15%, much greater than the general rate of inflation,” said Marchildon.

Marchildon says AARP does not run shuttle buses to the polls, so he recommends people carpool with friends and family. If you have a mail-in ballot, it’s too late to mail it in, so you’ll need to bring that to your town clerk’s office or to your polling place Tuesday.

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