VOTING, IMPROVED

Voting, and registering to do so, has been made a lot easier in Bangor, leaving little reason not to cast a ballot in the upcoming elections.

To streamline voting and perhaps save the city some money, Bangor has gone from eight to four polling places, one for each of the city’s legislative districts. The center of election activity will move from City Hall to the Bangor Civic Center, which is easily accessible and offers plenty of parking.

Those wishing to avoid crowds or to get the task of voting checked off their “to do” lists can cast a ballot at the Civic Center from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. You can even register to vote beforehand if you need to. Follow the signs to the front of the building for the appropriate entrance.

The changes grew out of a recommendation from City Clerk Patti Dubois to consolidate all the city’s voting at the Civic Center. Concerned that this was too big a change, the City Council formed a committee to look at voting issues. The committee recommended the consolidation to four polling places.

The move alleviates questions about the accessibility of the elementary schools where voting had taken place. There will no longer be polling at the Fairmount School, Mary Snow School, Abraham Lincoln School and Fourteenth Street School. Voting locations are now the Civic Center, Bangor Community Center, Bangor High School and William S. Cohen School.

Consolidating voting also allows the city to be better prepared for elections day. There will be two, rather than one, voting machine at each location which will minimize disruptions and delays due to equipment problems. Also, the city clerk will be more available to answer questions about voter registration or other issues.

Another good recommendation was to put the new system through a dry run during an election with expected low participation before a busy general election. That first run is now under way and will culminate in the primary election on June 13. City Clerk Dubois plans to review how the system worked during the primary voting and recommend any changes as necessary before the November election.

The new consolidated system makes sense and should be well received by voters.