Voters came in droves to Twin Cities polling places, driven largely by controversial ballot questions.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
A voter casts a ballot at the Lewiston Armory on Tuesday afternoon.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Throughout the day, a steady stream of Bates College students were signing up to vote at the Lewiston Armory.
Election officials in both cities said voting was steady all day Tuesday, but there were no lines, as there were at last year's presidential election.
"It's been just like this, all day long," said Virginia Adams, a polling officer for Ward 4 in Auburn. "There are always people registering at the table, or voting or dropping off their ballot. I don't think I turned around once this morning to see one of those stations empty."
Overall, voter turnout in the Twin Cities was down slightly, compared to the 2008 presidential election. Lewiston had 16,632 ballots cast then, compared to 12,695 this year. It represented a 54 percent voter turnout, according to the City Clerk's office.
"It hasn't been crazy, but it's been steady," said Lewiston City Clerk
Kathy Montejo. "It's been busy, which means not much in the way of
breaks for the people working at the polls. We've been registering
people and answering a lot of questions."
In Auburn, 8,963 voters cast ballots this year, compared to 11,782 last year.
"It was like this at 8 a.m., when we opened the door," Auburn City Clerk Mary Lou Magno said. "And they've kept coming."
In Ward 7 in Lewiston, 658 voters had cast ballots by 1 p.m. Voters said that it was interest in the ballot initiatives — specifically, Question 1, seeking to overturn a new same-sex marriage law — that brought them to the polls.
"I really don't know any of the names," said Deb Mack, 19, a Bates
College sophomore. "I know the issues. So I left the city ballots
blank."
Report a correction
In order to make comments, you must verify your account.
In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.
Login or create an account here.
Our policy prohibits comments that are:
- Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
- Excessively foul and/or vulgar
- Inappropriately sexual
- Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
- Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
- Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.