LEWISTON — As of Thursday, nearly 100,000 Mainers had requested absentee ballots for next Tuesday’s general election, according to state election officials.

That’s about 40 percent of the number of absentee ballots issued during last year’s presidential election, said Julie Flynn, Maine’s deputy secretary of state. Presidential and gubernatorial elections typically see higher turnouts than “off-year” elections, such as this year’s, when only referendum questions appear on the statewide ballot, she said.

“We are getting quite a flurry of absentees, especially in these last couple of weeks before the election,” Flynn said. “However, I believe that it doesn’t necessarily mean that the turnout will be that much higher.” 

Voter turnout in off-year elections ranges from 20 percent to 50 percent, she said.

“We had about 50 percent in the tribal casino vote in 2003, but in 2001 it was 22 percent,” Flynn said.

Though the state has worked to make obtaining absentee ballots more
convenient, Flynn said Mainers shouldn’t be concerned about voter
fraud.

Voters must initially show proof of identity and residency in order
to register, and those voting via absentee ballots must sign the ballot
envelope in order for it to be processed, Flynn said.

“If there are any discrepancies, (town officials) can research the
voter card or the signature in the system,” she said. “We have a
process, sometimes it may even be a little bit too much of a process,
but that’s to try and make sure people are confident that things are
handled properly.”

Get-out-the-vote efforts by campaigners on both sides of Question 1, which asks voters if they would like to reject the law allowing same-sex marriage, have pushed people to vote early. Though there are seven questions on the state ballot, local clerks say the multimillion-dollar Question 1 campaigns are driving the absentee rush.

Auburn City Clerk Mary Lou Magno said about 1,700 absentee ballots had
been processed, which is “much larger than typical” for an off-year
election.

Lewiston had processed 2,200, but City Clerk Kathleen Montejo expected that number to climb.

“We’ve done about half of the ballots we did a year ago for the
presidential election,” she said. “It’s probably a little higher than usual (for an
off-year).”

She said Question 1 proponents and opponents had been mailing applications for absentee ballots directly to voters. “I know I’ve received several at my house.”

Mainers are getting more accustomed to voting by absentee ballot, Montejo said, which is likely a factor in the increase
in requests. “People kind of remember it from past busy elections and they
realize it’s so convenient. It’s just sort of growing steadily,
regardless of the topics on the ballot.”

On Thursday, Lewiston city officials cautioned voters not feeling
well to take advantage of absentee balloting to prevent the
spread of the H1N1 flu virus.

Town officials in Farmington said the estimated 500 absentee ballots processed is on par with previous years. In Rumford and Norway, clerks said requests were up slightly at about 400 and 200, respectively.

Darlene Huntress, the field director for get-out-the-vote efforts for the No on 1/Protect Marriage Equality campaign, said she had been asking supporters to vote early since the beginning of October.

“I don’t think there’s a voter out there that we’ve talked to that doesn’t know about early voting, because it’s been a big part of our conversation with our supporters,” she said.

More than 8,000 volunteers across the state are knocking on doors and making phone calls for the No on 1 campaign, Huntress said. They’ve targeted college campuses, such as Bates College, the University of Maine at Farmington and the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

“We understand this is an important vote and know that most students are going to support our side,” she said.

Workers will keep at it until the last minute, she said.

Requests for comment from the Yes on 1 campaign regarding their get-out-the-vote efforts were not returned.

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