Voting tips: Besides wearing comfortable shoes for long lines, people who have just registered to vote may want to call their town or city hall before they vote to ensure they’re on the voter list. First-time voters should also bring identification showing their address in case they have to re-register.

Any voter having difficulty can call the Secretary of State’s office at 624-7650; or the election protection hot line, 1-866-OURVOTE, to speak to an expert.

Maine expects heavy turnout
PATIENCE: Long lines likely at polls
COUNT: Results may take long time

LEWISTON – Wear comfortable shoes.

Based on public interest in the election, a high amount of absentee voting and new voter registrations, Lewiston-Auburn officials are recommending voters prepare for long lines at the polls and extra-late returns Tuesday night.

Both cities are predicting record turnouts. Unlike other battle states of Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, however, few problems are expected in Maine with the voting process, said Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause.

Maine does not use the controversial computerized voting machines, which leave no paper trail, nor does it have some of the issues facing other states.

In Lewiston, City Clerk Kathleen Montejo is predicting 70 to 75 percent of registered voters will vote, compared to the average presidential turnout of 60 percent. “We’ve had a lot of interest. I’ve had people in their 40s coming to the window saying they’ve never voted before in their life,” but are voting because of the bear-baiting referendum. “The diversity of items on the ballot is bringing out all sorts of people.”

Auburn City Clerk Mary Lou Magno predicted an 85 percent voter turnout, maybe 90. “Typically we have 80 percent for a presidential election. There’s significant interest out there,” Magno said. “We’ve had a line the last two days for people waiting to vote absentee.”

Because all signs point to long lines Tuesday, voters are asked to be patient, Montejo cautioned. “We usually refer to an election as the single largest one-day event the city has to coordinate for our residents.”

For those eager to find out who won and who lost, they had better plan on a late night or early morning. Typically, returns become available at 9:30 p.m. in Lewiston. This year it may be 11, Montejo said.

Like other places, both cities have thousands of new voters registered. Since July 1, Lewiston has registered 2,219 new voters, and Auburn has registered 1,701. “We’re getting new ones every day,” Magno said.

Statewide, more than 60,000 new voter registrations have been processed by the Secretary of State’s Office, said spokesman Doug Dunbar, but he explained that not all new registrations are processed by the office and that a statewide total is not available.

Some of the crowd at the polls Tuesday will be observers, not voters. Compared to every other election, “there’ll be more lawyers, more volunteers on the ground than ever before, including Maine,” Pingree said. “This will be the most observed election in the history of our country.”

Lewiston and Auburn city clerks have been informed that Democrats and Republicans will have poll watchers at every polling place. And some polls will have volunteer lawyers standing by, ready to help anyone having difficulty voting, said Arn Pearson of the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund.

In 2002, some Orono voters were challenged at the polls, and word got back to the University of Maine campus that students could not vote, Pearson said. All Maine residents have the right to register and vote where they live on Election Day, he noted, saying that some college students say their residence is their campus address, while others say it’s where their parents live.

Since 2002, state laws have been changed to protect voters’ rights. Now, no one can challenge a person’s right to vote unless they have personal knowledge that the voter may not be legal, Pearson said.

“No voter should leave the polling place without voting, even if they get challenged,” he said. If someone’s ballot is challenged, they may vote, and the ballot can be marked and examined later if results are close.

Pingree, a former state senator from North Haven, said Common Cause has received 30,000 calls from people nationally concerned that their right to vote may be hampered. Of those calls, 46 came from Maine.

“We haven’t seen any significant or unusual problems in Maine. In every state there’s a tremendous number of new voter registrations, especially the targeted states.”

Pingree said Maine has the most voter-supportive election laws in the country, and has taken steps to encourage people to vote, which is why Maine has led the nation in having the highest voter turnout, she said.