Heavy voter turnout expected today Maine primary sports bevy of congressional, legislative races, $29.7M bond issue

AUGUSTA – High energy from this year’s presidential race combined with intensely contested congressional races and important local issues are likely to draw an unusually heavy turnout at Maine’s polls today, the state’s top election official said.

“I’m thinking around 30 to 35 percent,” which would be about 50 percent higher than usual for primary elections, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Monday.

Maine has no presidential primaries, but heavy participation at the presidential preference caucuses in February underscores Mainers’ strong interest in politics this year, Dunlap said.

Election officials usually go out of their way to remind people to vote, but “people are thinking about voting because it’s a presidential election year,” said Dunlap. “And we don’t have to struggle with [reminding people] this year.”

Dunlap said other factors are at work as well to bring out voters, including a U.S. Senate primary, contested primaries in the 1st Congressional District, legislative primaries in two dozen districts across the state, and local issues, especially school budget votes.

Pre-election activity was heavy in southern Maine’s 1st Congressional District, where six Democrats and two Republicans are vying for their respective parties’ nominations for the seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Allen. The six-term Democratic congressman is favored to beat politically untested Tom Ledue for their party’s nod to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

The U.S. House candidates hit the streets all over the 1st District. On Monday morning, Democrat Ethan Strimling and Republican Charles Summers and their supporters waved to motorists on opposite approaches to the Casco Bay Bridge in South Portland and Portland.

Chellie Pingree’s campaign schedule took her to the Augusta, Hallowell and Winthrop areas, while Adam Cote concentrated on meeting voters in the Biddeford-Saco area.

“It’s all about reminding people to vote on Tuesday,” Cote said.

As he headed to Portland’s busy Exchange Street to shake hands and hand out campaign literature, Michael Brennan said a series of attacks and counterattacks among some of the other candidates would help his cause.

“We definitely believe momentum is going our way. I still feel we’re very competitive in this race,” Brennan said.

Mark Lawrence made phone calls to voters and scheduled an afternoon shift-change stop at the Bath Iron Works gates. Also in the race is Stephen Meister. In the Republican 1st District primary, Summers faces political newcomer Dean Scontras.

Also on primary ballots around the state will be six contests among Democrats for state Senate and 18 House primaries, 10 of them featuring Democrats and the other eight matching up Republican nomination rivals.

Appearing on the statewide ballot will be a bond issue question seeking authorization of $29.7 million in long-term borrowing for natural resource, agricultural and transportation projects. They range from landfill cleanups and dam repairs to highway and bridge improvements.

Voters and election workers won’t be the only ones at the polls today.

Campaigns for two people’s veto campaigns – dealing with Real ID license restrictions and new taxes to pay for DirigoHealth – plan to set up tables to collect voters’ signatures at the polls.

Both are facing July 17 deadlines to collect at least 55,087 signatures needed to get their proposals on the November 2008 ballot. Considering the early deadline both face, they are expected to be at as many polling places as possible today to move their campaigns forward, election officials said.

One of the campaigns seeks to repeal taxes on beer, wine and soda and new surcharges insurers must pay on paid claims to fund the state-sponsored DirigoHealth insurance program. The other seeks to repeal a new law to bolster security of Maine’s driver’s licenses to bring the state into closer compliance with the federal Real ID Act.

Also gathering signatures will be a citizen’s initiative campaign to repeal Maine’s law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination and reaffirming the law that now prohibits marriage by people of the same sex.

That campaign does not face such tight deadlines to collect signatures because its question cannot go on the ballot before November 2009.