LEWISTON — Voters were prepared to hit the polls early on Election Day.

According to Lewiston City Clerk Kathy Montejo, the first voter at the Lewiston Armory got in line at 6 a.m., appearing like he was waiting in line on Black Friday — a folding chair, blanket, coffee mug and ear pods in tow.

But after the early morning lines cleared, election officials in Lewiston and Auburn, and elsewhere in Androscoggin County, said the remainder of the day was smooth sailing.

“Every polling place definitely had lines at 7 a.m.,” Montejo said, adding that the lines all “cleared quickly.”

She believed that was partly due to the local ballot this year, with no city government races and no state referendum questions or bond issues. Most voters taking advantage of early voting at City Hall took about one to two minutes to cast their ballots, she said, meaning that in most cases lines of people were able to mostly remain indoors.

Leading up to Election Day, clerks were warning voters not to get discouraged by lines that appeared longer than normal due to indoor capacity limits and social distancing measures because of the pandemic.

Other than a surge of voters when polls opened, Lewiston never really saw another spike, Montejo said.

“We’ve been so pleased by the pace of voters coming in,” she said. “We haven’t had the large volumes requiring long waits.”

Election officials, however, were surprised by the number of voter registrations, Montejo said, especially in Wards 3 and 5. Some longer lines for registrations (Maine allows same-day voter registration) caused Montejo to reallocate some City Hall staff to the former Longley school to assist.

Montejo said a majority of the registrations were address changes for residents who have moved within the city, especially in the downtown areas that make up Wards 3 and 5.

“That was a little bit of a surprise to us, but it’s a good thing,” she said.

Heading into the afternoon, Montejo said staff realized they couldn’t rely on the typical Election Day turnout spikes at lunchtime, after school and after work. With so many variables related to the pandemic — including absentee voting and work and school schedules in flux — “all bets are off,” she said.

Officials believe the pandemic has contributed to nearly 12,000 absentee votes in Lewiston and more than 8,000 in Auburn.

On the community Facebook page Lewiston Rocks, members reported no lines at the Armory, and Montello and Longley schools by midmorning.

Montejo said she believed more voters would opt to vote as early as possible rather than deal with the colder temperatures and wind when the sun goes down. But, she said, the city installed flood lights outside each location.

She said that during the July midterms, staff “waited and waited” for a dinnertime rush but never saw one, and assumed it was related to the number of people working from home.

“The pace seems to be really manageable for both the voters and the workers,” she said. “We’re hearing from wardens that all the voters are being appreciative, patient and understanding.”

The city’s polling locations never really saw the after-work surge.

The outlook in Auburn appeared similar by noon Tuesday.

City Clerk Sue Clements-Dallaire said the “morning was crazy, with a “mad rush” at 7 a.m. But by mid-morning, it was “slow, steady and manageable.”

One resident reported only a 10-minute wait with limited lines at the Auburn Senior Community Center, a new polling location this year that was serving Wards 1 and 2. Another reported similar conditions at the Boys and Girls Club in Ward 5.

The city did experience another uptick in turnout between 4 and 6 p.m., Clements-Dallaire said. After the 6 p.m. numbers came in, the city had surpassed its turnout for the 2016 election.

The 6 p.m. counts showed 2,251 votes cast in Wards 1 and 2; 707 in Ward 3; 596 in Ward 4; and 811 in Ward 5.

During the Auburn City Council meeting Monday, City Manager Phil Crowell said city officials and clerk’s office staff had been working to make sure they were “ready and prepared” for Election Day. Following the meeting, staff from Public Works began setting up the Council Chamber for voting. It hosted Wards 3 and 4.

Mayor Jason Levesque urged the public to vote and “not be afraid of lines at the polls.”

He said with about 8,100 ballots already cast, it equals just over half of registered voters in Auburn. Generally, the city sees about a 72% turnout during presidential elections, he said, arguing Election Day will be smooth.

Crowell said in case there are lines, the city established shelters outside of polling locations. The city also rolled out a shuttle service for residents between all three polling locations.

“Our volunteers have been incredible,” Crowell said. “Our staff and team are well prepared to remove all possible barriers to voting.”

At Lisbon High School, at least 50 voters were lined up when the polls opened at 7 a.m., officials said.

Turnout remained “very busy” throughout the morning, said Martha Poliquin, a Lisbon Democrat running for state Senate District 22.

Dale Crafts, the GOP’s candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, said he was with state Sen. Jeff Timberlake of Turner at the polls Tuesday morning, greeting voters and handing out treats from Timberlake’s orchards to poll workers.

Everywhere they went, Crafts said, they saw lots of voters in line despite heavy early voting throughout the state.

In Lewiston, Montejo said about 5 p.m. that if the current conditions at the polls held, the city was likely to get timely results. The only delay, she said, would be if there were still lines at 8 p.m.

“At this point, we don’t have any lines at all,” she said.

Staff Writer Steve Collins also contributed to this story.

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