Mainers had many different motivations for going to the polls.
By Lindsay Tice
Staff Writer

Some went to the polls to tackle the casino question.

Others went to voice their opinion on tax reform.

And others went, they said, because it simply was their duty.

Voters may have had different reasons for going, but the results were the same: a possible record day at the polls.

“Usually we don’t have this many,” said Paula White, deputy town clerk in Kingfield, where half of registered voters had been to the polls by 4 p.m. “So hopefully we don’t run out of ballots.”

It was a busy Election Day throughout the region, unusual since there were no presidential, gubernatorial or congressional races on the ballot. On such “off-years,” Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky said, between 20 percent and 44 percent of Maine’s voting age population head to the polls.

State officials won’t know exactly how many Mainers voted for a few days. But Gwadosky said the controversial ballot questions and extensive media coverage of election issues could lead to the highest voter turnout Maine has ever seen in an off year.

At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Farmington Town Clerk Leanne Pinkham estimated that 2,000 people would go to the polls. The town usually sees 1,000 to 1,500 people in an off-year.

“It’s not presidential but it’s been steady,” she said.

In Paris, officials estimated that 1,100 to 1,500 people would show up at the polls. The town sees nearly that many during presidential elections.

In Rangeley and Eustis, snow, sleet and freezing rain didn’t keep voters away.

Eustis, which usually gets about 50 voters in an off-year, saw more than 200.

“I think people here are used to the snow,” said Town Clerk Kathy Fearon.

In southern Maine, so many voters showed up at the polls that some towns feared running out of ballots. They asked the Secretary of State’s Office for permission to start photocopying ballots or use absentee ballots in place of the official sheets.

Although Gwadosky knew of no western Maine towns that had run out of ballots, area election officials were kept busy.

“This has got to be a record day for Auburn,” said City Clerk Mary Lou Magno.

In Auburn, 63 percent of active voters went to the polls. That’s not as high as presidential election years, which can run between 70 percent and 80 percent, Magno said, but “for just a referendum year that is very high.”

In Lewiston, officials reported steady traffic all day. There were an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 voters in Ward 1 alone.

“People burst in shortly after seven o’clock,” said Ward 1 warden Lucy Bisson.

But at the Elks Lodge, where part of Ward 6 was shifted, warden Joan St. Hilaire said absentee ballots were high but voter turnout was not what she expected. At 6 p.m., the polling place had seen 790 voters.

“I think it’s low,” she said. “I think we should have had more voter turnout.”

This was the first election in which Ward 6 had moved from the City Hall to the Elks Lodge. St. Hilaire believed that voters did not like the drive across town.

In smaller towns, officials said they had a busy day.

Many voters said they went to the polls because of the casino question.

“I just wanted to get my vote in for everything,” said 18-year-old Sheena Albert of Auburn. “I wanted the casino thing to pass.

Others wanted to send a message to lawmakers about tax reform. In Lewiston, some wanted to weigh in on a new mayor.

But others said they always cast their vote on Election Day. They believe it is their duty.

Said Randy Small of Lewiston, “You vote on the second Tuesday in November. That’s what you do as a citizen.”

ltice@sunjournal.com

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