Voter turnout steady, heavy Tuesday

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Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

A voter casts a ballot at the Lewiston Armory on Tuesday afternoon.

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Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Throughout the day, a steady stream of Bates College students were signing up to vote at the Lewiston Armory.

Voters came in droves to Twin Cities polling places, driven largely by controversial ballot questions.

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."

staylor@sunjournal.com