Early bird ballots Eager voters getting a jump on Election Day with absentee options

BANGOR – City voters hoping to avoid the usual hassles of Election Day by casting in-person absentee ballots may not experience the smooth sailing they expected.

With Election Day just a week away, lines inside the Bangor Civic Center on Monday were steady and wait times lengthy as the city began allowing residents to effectively vote early.

Bangor City Clerk Patti Dubois said the average wait time was about half an hour, but she warned that turnout is likely to increase as the week goes on.

“We’re asking people to be patient,” she said. “It’s going to be a busy week.”

The civic center will remain open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday for in-person absentee voting. Under state law, the early votes cannot be processed until next week, but Bangor, Portland and some other communities began inviting voters this week to cast absentee ballots in person. Add that to the already high number of Mainers who have requested traditional absentee ballots by mail and the state is seeing more and more people looking to get their votes in before Election Day.

“People are eager to get out there and vote, which is great,” said John Smith, Maine’s deputy secretary of state. “Already, we’re approaching the number of absentee ballots that were submitted in 2004.”

As of Monday morning, about 135,000 Mainers had requested absentee ballots, and more than 93,000 of them had been returned, Smith said. Since 1999, when state laws changed to allow any registered voter to vote absentee for any reason, the number of absentee ballots has risen considerably, from about 76,000 in 2000 to 166,000 four years ago. If things continue at the current rate, this election season will see an even higher total.

The Maine Democratic Party even held a rally Monday afternoon outside the civic center featuring U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who all encouraged supporters to vote early.

Mitchell told a crowd of about 100 people that “America’s standing in the world is as low as it’s ever been,” and that “80 percent of people say we’re going in the wrong direction.” The former Democratic Senate majority leader pledged his support for Sen. Barack Obama but said the race between Tom Allen and Sen. Susan Collins also could be crucial in allowing the Democratic Party to reach a 60-seat majority.

The state Republican Party did not hold any corresponding rallies Monday, but GOP Chairman Mark said the party has been educating potential voters about absentee voting since early June.

“People seem to love having the option,” he said. “My primary concern, though, is that there could be such a high interest that maybe the municipalities are being overwhelmed.”

Dubois didn’t use the word overwhelming, but she admitted that the volume has been tremendous so far. Beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, a small line already had formed at the civic center and the lines remained steady throughout the day.

Voters were handed a ballot, which they filled out by hand behind a curtain. The ballot was sealed in an envelope and sorted in giant plastic bins by ward. The ballots will remain sealed until next week when they will be processed with the Election Day ballots.

By 4 p.m., about 800 voters had cast in-person absentee ballots, according to Dubois, who predicted the number could eclipse 5,000 or 6,000 by week’s end.

Most voters who were approached in Bangor on Monday afternoon declined to reveal their political proclivities, but they praised the in-person absentee option.

In Portland, where 27 percent voted absentee four years ago, more than 9,100 absentee ballots have been requested for this election, and hundreds more are expected each day this week, said Clerk Linda Cohen.

Rumford’s 730 requests received by Oct. 24 surpassed the absentee total for the last presidential election, said Beth Bellegarde, the voter registrar.

“It’s higher. Four years ago we had 700 or 800, but we’re at that now and have a week left,” Bellegarde said.

In Machias, 177 absentee ballots had been requested and 140 returned as of Monday, well above the usual 20 or 25, said Clerk Sandra Clifton, who added, “I’m having a hard time keeping up with it.”

The spike in interest in absentee voting is partially due to voters picking a convenient time and avoiding Election Day lines, officials said. They also cited the compelling nature of this year’s election, which features the presidential race between Obama and Sen. John McCain, the senate race between Allen and Collins, two U.S. House races, and provocative casino and tax-repeal questions on Maine’s ballot.

Even with absentee voting, there’s a potential for 650,000 voters to turn out at the polls on Election Day, said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, pushing turnout of registered voters toward the 75-80 percent range.

Maine typically has one of the nation’s highest turnout figures, and is one of only nine states with Election Day registration.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

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