Absentee ballots boost turnout

Several controversial items on this year’s referendum ballot brought Maine voters to the polls Tuesday.

“People understand casinos and property taxes,” Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky said Tuesday during a visit to the polls at Bangor Civic Center.

The number of absentee ballots also is up from previous years, which Gwadosky said could be attributed to the fact that Maine changed the absentee ballot law two years ago. The law previously stated that only people who were going to be away from their place of residence or who could not get to the polls because of physical impairments could use an absentee ballot. Now there are no restrictions, and mere convenience is reason enough to use one.

Fort Kent Town Clerk Rella Dubois said she had close to 100 absentee ballots so far and still hadn’t finished counting them.

For a referendum vote, Dubois said there was a high number of absentee ballots and new voter registrations this year.

“We’ve had a very good turnout for a referendum,” Dubois said Tuesday afternoon. She expected the Fort Kent polls to get even busier once people got out of work at 5 p.m.

That proved true in Bangor, where lines formed at the Civic Center at 5 p.m. An hour later things had died down and there was hardly a wait. Bangor’s unofficial voter turnout was reported at about 50 percent overall, according to City Clerk Gail Campbell. The average turnout in a referendum vote is 30 percent for the city. The number of newly registered voters for this election came in on the high side for the city at 1,300.

The same was true in other parts of the state. When the polls closed, 56 percent of Brewer’s registered voters had cast their ballots. The city also reported receiving 350 absentee ballots.

Lakeview Plantation reported that 71 of the town’s 80 registered voters showed up at the polls. And with about five hours left before the polls were to close, nearly one-third of Hermon’s 3,000 registered voters had made it out.

“This is extraordinary for an off-year for Hermon,” Town Clerk Carol Davis said Tuesday.

Two election clerks were checking names and handing out ballots, one more than usual to keep up with the pace of voters, she said.

“There’s been no let-up,” Davis said.

She estimated that the town received 100 absentee ballots, most likely an increase from past years. New registrations were down Tuesday, but Davis said that might have been a reflection of people coming in earlier to register.

The polls in Medway saw a jump with their absentee ballots totaling 49, according to Administrative Assistant Kathy Lee. The same proved true in Old Town, according to Town Clerk Patricia Brochu, who reported 150 absentee ballots were received there.

She said it had been a busy election, with at least 200 new voters registering Tuesday. As of 3:30 p.m., 20 percent of the town’s 6,685 registered voters had turned out.

East Millinocket, on the other hand, saw its absentee ballots cut in half from last year. Seventy-two had been counted by 7 p.m., as opposed to the 149 the town received during the last November election.

Gwadosky echoed what the majority of the numbers showed.

“Absentee ballots are at an all-time high,” he said.

An average voter turnout in an off-year referendum election is between 20 percent and 45 percent of registered voters, Gwadosky said. He said he expects this year’s numbers to be on the upper end of that average.

“Everywhere we’ve been, it’s been double what it was two years ago,” Gwadosky said. “Whether or not it’s a record breaker depends on what happens in the next two hours.”