Bangor testing out early voting option

loading...

BANGOR – Though the program has been slow in getting started since it began Monday, a state-sponsored early voting pilot program has been receiving high marks from city election workers and from residents, who are among the first in Maine to give it a test drive.

Other Maine municipalities that the Secretary of State’s Office tapped to serve as pilot sites for early voting are Portland and Readfield.

As of Tuesday afternoon, only 100 or so voters had turned up to cast early ballots at the Bangor Civic Center, which is being specially staffed and equipped for that purpose from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Monday.

City Clerk Patti Dubois and her crew of election wardens, however, expected the number of participants to jump today, when a flu shot clinic will be held at the civic center. Elections workers at the civic center on Tuesday were trying to come up with a snappy slogan that might get residents to come to Bass Park for both events. One suggestion that drew groans was “Election Injection.”

The number of residents expected to vote early is expected to spike again on Saturday, when early voting hours overlap with the United Maine Craftsmen’s annual arts and crafts show, also set for the civic center.

Monday also is expected to be busy because it is the last day before Election Day across Maine.

Resident Stephen Manter was among the first city voters to give the new program a try.

“It’s convenient and I vote anyway,” he said Tuesday when asked why he chose to vote early. “I’m out of town a lot,” added Manter, whose work as a district manager requires frequent travel.

The bond issues on this year’s state ballot were among the topics that brought Manter to the polls.

“The state’s already in [financial] trouble,” he said. “I think we shouldn’t be putting more [borrowing] out there when we can’t control the spending we have now.”

Susan Titcomb, who turned up Tuesday to cast her ballots, is another early voting fan.

“I love it because it’s more flexible for people and if you have a busy schedule, I think you need that,” she said.

“To me, it’s important to vote, especially when it comes to [congressional] candidates I don’t approve of,” she said, though none were on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Though early voting sounds a lot like absentee voting on the surface, there are some key differences, Dubois noted in a recent interview.

Early voting is different from in-person absentee voting in that the voter places the ballot directly in the ballot box or voting machine, instead of sealing it in a signed envelope for later processing on Election Day. It is designed to supplement rather than replace the existing absentee balloting process.

As it stands, state law stipulates that voters who choose to vote absentee, or early, pick up their ballots at their local city hall or town office, or arrange to receive them by mail. The voters then complete their ballots, place them in an envelope and sign the outside of the envelope.

That has prompted some voters to worry that their ballots weren’t remaining confidential.

Though they will be fed into voting machines throughout the week, early voters’ ballots won’t be tallied until Election Day, Dubois said.

According to city election workers, the early voting program has been well-received so far.

“I haven’t heard one negative thing,” said Debbie Marcotte. “They like the convenience of it and the parking here is so much better” than at most of the city’s other voting locations.

“I think we’re going to get more [early] voters, so let’s hope that this experiment works,” Marcotte said.

Michael Gleason, another election worker, said voters seem to like it better than absentee voting because they can avoid the paperwork and the long lines on Election Day.

He said voters have noted that they feel their ballots remain confidential because no one else handles them before they go into the counting machines.

Because the Secretary of State’s Office is seeking some feedback for lawmakers, who will be considering whether to make early voting available statewide, participants are being asked to complete a short, confidential survey for the state.

On Election Day, Bangor voters should report to their assigned polling places, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bangor’s four voting locations are:

. Bangor Civic Center for voters who live in Maine House of Representatives District 15.

. The community center on Davis Road for District 16.

. Bangor High School for District 17.

. William S. Cohen School for District 18.

Residents unsure of which district they live in can visit the city’s Web site at www.bangormaine.gov and click on the election information icon.