April McCullum

Free Press Staff Writer

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders walked into his Burlington neighborhood polling place Tuesday morning and declared that he’d won at least one vote in Vermont — his own.

Sanders voted with his wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, and was flanked by Secret Service officers. National and local media swarmed the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center.

“We're feeling great,” Sanders said after voting, wearing a sweater and a black wool coat with the collar turned up.

There was no line for voters with last names L through Z when the couple arrived at about 7:30 a.m.

“If you’re not on the checklist, we’ve done something wrong,” said Burlington Ward 7 Clerk Thomas Fleury.

“Would you like a sticker?” offered one poll worker.

Vermont is one of 11 states that hold presidential contests on Super Tuesday. Sanders told reporters, as he often does, that his success would depend on high voter turnout.

He laughed off a question about whether he had any regrets about the campaign.

“We are doing very, very well,” Sanders said, adding that his campaign was “going to the Philadelphia Convention in July.”

A reporter asked Sanders about black Vermonters who have been critical of Sanders’ record on racial issues in his home state.

“Well, I don’t accept that,” Sanders said. “I think my record on civil rights is as strong as any member of the United States Congress, and I’m proud of that record.”

In addition to the presidential race, Sanders considered local issues on the Burlington ballot, including the traffic pattern near his home on Burlington’s heavily-traveled North Avenue.

The former Burlington mayor paused for a polling-place photo with a man who asked how he’d voted on the controversial road question.

“Private,” Sanders said. “But I will tell you, after a lot of thought, I voted for me for president.”

Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank