New-voter signups deluge town clerks

Town clerks around Hancock County are reporting increased voter registration and requests for absentee ballots as the Nov. 2 election approaches.

Some towns have seen a jump of as much as 10 percent in the number of registered voters in their towns.

In Ellsworth, the county’s only city, new registrations have outpaced the 2003 mark, according to City Clerk Martha Bayer.

Between July and October, Bayer has registered 214 new voters. During a similar period in 2003, she registered just 65.

As of Oct. 15, she had provided 324 absentee ballots to voters compared with just 71 in the 2000 presidential election.

In Bucksport, where Town Clerk Kathy Downes Gray has registered an estimated 400 new voters, she has had to enlist help to process the new registrations.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Downes Gray said Thursday. “I’ve had to swear in all the girls in the office to help me. I don’t see it slacking off at all.”

Bar Harbor Town Clerk Patricia Gray has registered some new voters but said she’s anticipating a rush on Election Day. During the last election, about 200 people registered on Election Day, she said.

Meanwhile, about 550 people have requested absentee ballots. Gray ordered 700 absentee ballots and has signed on extra help on election night to count absentee ballots.

A voter registration drive at Maine Maritime Academy drew in 50 new voters in Castine, raising the total new voters to register in the past two months to about 75, according to Town Clerk Susan Macomber.

Macomber also has had so many requests for absentee ballots that she ran out of ballots.

“I’ve just received approval to use the official ballots as absentee ballots,” she said Thursday.

Macomber said there has been a marked increase in military people registering for absentee ballots in Castine this year. State election officials indicated that military personnel have been encouraged to file early for absentee ballots this year.

While some towns report that the new voter registration just represents new residents who had not yet registered, others indicated that the presidential election and the state referendum questions have been driving the new voters.

Even some of the smaller towns in the county have seen a bump in new registrations.

Frances Bartlett, the town clerk in Cranberry Isles, reported 19 registrations this year bringing the total number of registered voters in the town’s two districts to 209. Most of those new voters are young people who have just become eligible to vote, she said.

The high number of absentee ballots there also reflects the number of younger voters, many of whom are away at college, Bartlett said.