AUGUSTA – The Maine Secretary of State’s Office wrapped up recounts for 15 legislative races Friday, leaving the apparent outcome unchanged in two House districts. Three other House races remain unresolved. Incumbent Rep. Earl E. Richardson, R-Greenville, picked up a handful of votes Friday to… Read More
    AUGUSTA – As the Maine Secretary of State’s Office continues its record number of legislative recounts, three House races are pivoting on a handful of ballots either cast by absentee voters, challenged by municipal officials or disputed by the candidates. On Monday, House District 67… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Democrats were on the verge of laying claims to two more legislative seats Friday after two House recounts appeared to lean in the majority party’s direction. House Democrats claimed late Friday afternoon that a recount in the House District 43 race had all… Read More
    PORTLAND – Forty-nine percent of Scarborough’s residents who voted in this month’s election cast absentee ballots, and between 20 and 30 percent of votes cast in Portland and Biddeford were by absentee. High levels of absentee voting in those and other Maine communities are prompting… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Recount requests began to trickle in Thursday to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office in the aftermath of Tuesday’s balloting. Deputy Secretary of State Doug Dunbar said seven House recount requests had been received by late afternoon, and a number of calls from… Read More
    The Election Day demise of the Palesky property tax cap prompted a quick response from the State House Wednesday morning, with Gov. John Baldacci declaring tax reform his administration’s top priority and appointing a select committee to craft its own plan within a month to reduce Maine’s tax… Read More
    Voters defeated the bear baiting referendum Tuesday, although the race, as predicted, went “down to the wire.” For hours, early returns suggested a photo finish on Question 2. But by early Wednesday morning, opposition to the ban on three bear hunting practices characterized as “cruel… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Voter turnout Tuesday probably exceeded 70 percent for the third time in the state’s history, the Secretary of State’s Office said Wednesday. Final numbers will not be available for several days, but it seems likely that turnout approached or exceeded the 73 percent… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Maine voters’ selection of Sen. John Kerry as their choice for president underscored the state’s moderate streak, according to political observers supported by survey data. While losing nationally, Kerry won in Maine with 53 percent of the vote to President Bush’s 45 percent,… Read More
    BANGOR – ‘Twas the night after elections and all through the city, not a creature was stirring except a small group of bleary-eyed women, still counting ballots at City Hall. The tired poll workers counted a record 3,913 absentee ballots at Central Voting, deep into… Read More
    BELFAST – Recounts are likely for a pair of incumbent Waldo County state representatives, and former state Sen. Susan Longley apparently ousted longtime Waldo County Judge of Probate Randolph Mailloux. Two-term state Rep. Walter Ash, D-Belfast, said Wednesday he is awaiting results of a recount… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Despite having early leads in election returns Tuesday night, the challengers in two races for Hancock County commission fell short of dislodging the incumbents. Voting results released early Wednesday morning indicate Commissioners Kenneth Shea and Fay Lawson won their races comfortably and will… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Maine voters were feeling poorer and looking for a change in direction as they gave their support to Democrat John Kerry in Tuesday’s presidential balloting, according to an Associated Press survey. A third of those surveyed at Maine polling places said their family’s… Read More
    BANGOR – Despite a much closer race than anticipated, the citizen referendum to ban bear baiting was headed to a narrow defeat. Seven hours after the polls closed Tuesday night, the margin of victory on Question 2 had widened to 6 percent. With 87 percent… Read More
    All four of Maine’s electoral votes were won by Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, who had gained a comfortable lead over President George Bush, according to unofficial results tabulated by the Bangor Daily News early Wednesday morning. With 87 percent of Maine’s 634 precincts reporting,… Read More
    Voters resoundingly defeated a proposed 1 percent property tax cap Tuesday, based on unofficial results compiled by the Bangor Daily News. Based on early returns, 63 percent of voters opposed the measure and 37 percent supported the so-called Palesky initiative, with 87 percent of precincts… Read More
    There were a few glitches. Sometime during the middle of the day Tuesday, Bangor’s city clerk instructed all eight of the city’s polling places to start registering voters on the spot, a move intended to simplify the process for unregistered voters but one that created… Read More
    ORONO – Long lines didn’t deter voters Tuesday at the University of Maine where students turned out in record numbers to cast their ballots. More than 700 people had voted at UM by 3 p.m., and when the polls closed at 8 p.m. 1,694 votes… Read More
    U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud will reclaim his seat in Congress Tuesday, holding a wide lead over his closest opponent, Republican Brian Hamel, based on unofficial returns compiled by the Bangor Daily News. Michaud, a freshman Democrat, had 58 percent of the vote compared to Hamel’s… Read More
    Tuesday’s massive turnout of voters forced some changes in the political landscape at the State House, but the actual balance of political power remained too close to call early Wednesday morning. Republicans have had high hopes throughout this year’s campaign season, vowing to regain control… Read More
    MADAWASKA – The George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigns spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Tuesday’s election, but the most effective campaign may prove to be the least costly: the grass-roots effort going on in small municipalities all over the country. In the… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – The first town in Somerset County to report its vote tally Tuesday night was Dennistown Plantation, which had all of its votes counted by 7:15 p.m. “We knew who the four people were that weren’t voting, so we were able to finish counting… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – With the final hours of Election Day winding down, college roommates Ron Wrobel and Jeffrey Higgins were waiting expectantly for results. With a “may the best man win” spirit, the University of Maine at Presque Isle sophomores agreed that there would be… Read More
    CALAIS – Two Republican poll watchers who refused to identify themselves to the press and a Bush-Cheney sign illegally attached to a Maine Department of Transportation sign were all part of the hotly contested presidential race Tuesday that left several Down East people scratching their heads. Read More
    SENATE SENATE DISTRICT 1 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    BANGOR – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI were on the lookout for voter fraud. A cadre of attorneys throughout the state stood ready to protect Maine residents’ right to vote. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
    BANGOR – The U.S. Justice Department is prepared to ensure that voters’ rights are protected today, according to department officials. As it has since the 1960s, the department has appointed a local U.S. attorney to accept complaints of voter fraud or discrimination at the polls. Read More
    AUGUSTA – Computerized voting machines may be making inroads nationwide, but paper ballots rule the roost in Maine. Most of those ballots – about 65 percent – are read by optical scanning machines used in the more populous cities and towns. The remaining 35 percent,… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky said he’s concerned about possible disruptions if opponents of petition drives show up at polling places on Election Day. Activists representing opponents to petition drives have long been barred from polling areas. But the rule came into question… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Activists on both sides suggest that it may be some time after election night before it becomes clear whether Democrats or Republicans have won control of the Maine Senate and House of Representatives. Both major parties have been energetically contesting the statewide elections,… Read More
    Maine almost always has been an afterthought for presidential candidates, with just four electoral votes and an out-of-the way location that made skipping over it an easy call. This year it enjoyed a brief period as a battleground, before Sen. John Kerry pulled into a… Read More
    PORTLAND – Even without statewide races for U.S. Senate or governor, the Maine election seems to be drawing plenty of interest. Here, in question-and-answer form, are some facts about Tuesday’s balloting. Q: What’s at stake in Maine? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – President Bush’s White House chief of staff downplayed Friday the effect that news about missing explosives in Iraq might have on the final days of the election season. Andrew Card, directly after addressing Republicans at a rally at Hilltop House restaurant in Ellsworth,… Read More
    BANGOR – Tickets are still available for the Kerry-Edwards campaign rally Saturday, featuring Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards. Edwards will be joined for the Fresh Start for America Rally by his parents, Bobbie and Wallace Edwards. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    WASHINGTON – You will never find George Bush or John Kerry on a supermarket shelf next to the Tide, Pop-Tarts or Huggies. Even so, campaigns sell their candidates much as companies market their products, according to one expert. Though modern political campaigns have borrowed heavily… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Nearly a dozen publicly funded Democratic candidates for the Legislature will share more than $110,000 in matching funds after the state’s ethics panel concluded the Maine Republican Party crossed the line with some independent campaign mailings. In a 3-2 decision Thursday, the Commission… Read More
    Appleton Voting hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Town Hall, 2915 Sennebec Road. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    PORTLAND – He shows up at busy intersections and roads, from Portland to Calais, wearing a George W. Bush mask and dancing a herky-jerky jig as he entertains motorists and draws attention to his anti-Republican message. The dance is the “Wiener Boy Shuffle” (think W… Read More
    With Election Day approaching, party representatives are making sure that voters’ rights are protected and that everyone who shows up at the polls gets to cast a ballot. More than 250 lawyers have volunteered through the Maine Democratic Party to go to the polls on… Read More
    BANGOR – The Kerry-Edwards campaign announced Thursday that Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards is returning to Maine on Saturday to headline a Fresh Start for America Rally in downtown Bangor. Edwards will be joined at the rally by his parents, Bobbie and Wallace Edwards. Read More
    AUGUSTA – Opponents of a property tax cap referendum have spent more than twice as much as referendum supporters through Oct. 21, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. The reports, filed with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, showed that the two… Read More
    BREWER – Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Sen. George Mitchell landed in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District on Thursday in hopes of tipping what polls show to be a tight race for the presidency here. Giuliani, the Bush campaign’s top surrogate, came to… Read More
    Searsport Voting hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Public Safety Building. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    BANGOR – The final days in the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat have focused more on the Middle East than northern Maine, with Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud and his Republican challenger, Brian Hamel, battling on and off the airwaves over the war in Iraq. Read More
    ORONO – Fifth-graders at Asa Adams Elementary School got a lesson in democracy on Tuesday through the state’s mock election program. More than 400 schools statewide participated in the mock election. Partial results were collected on Tuesday night at headquarters in Bangor and Augusta, but… Read More
    LIBERTY – A question on the town’s possible withdrawal from SAD 3 may not appear before voters Tuesday. The question was put on the ballot when 52 registered voters signed a petition circulated by Selectman Wade Knowlton and his son, Lenny Knowlton. Petitioners wanted the… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Local elections in central Aroostook County are few and far between this November, with only a few communities voting for school and municipal officers. In Presque Isle, Jennifer Trombley and Walter J. Elish are running unopposed for two four-year terms to the… Read More
    Brooks Voting hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m., town office. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    Armies of flannel-clad bear hunters will take to the polls next week, belligerent at the thought that voters hundreds of miles away could interfere with their way of life. And if surveys are correct, women statewide, perhaps drawn to the ballot box by advertisements that depict a snared… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – In the final days of the campaign the two candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District put their best feet forward at a women- sponsored Breakfast of Champions event at the Northern Maine Community College on Tuesday morning. The session was billed for… Read More
    BANGOR – Some international students who cast ballots Tuesday afternoon at the Husson College mock election were happy to participate in the American democratic system, even if their votes can’t count officially. South Korean nursing student Yun-Jung Jang, 24, would like to see a change… Read More
    AUBURN – Republicans and Democrats staked out battlefields on opposing shores of the Androscoggin River on Tuesday as campaign workers gathered to hear high-profile surrogates extol the virtues of President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry. With less than a week to… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Republicans are making an issue out of Maine’s Dirigo Health program in some legislative races. Flyers making reference to the program are being distributed to voters in two targeted state Senate districts in the Augusta and Auburn areas, Republican officials confirmed Tuesday. The… Read More
    BANGOR – As candidates entered their final week of campaigning, representatives from advocacy groups and attorneys urged voters not to be “Floridated” on Election Day. The League of Women Voters of Maine, Common Cause Maine, the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and the Maine Citizen Leadership… Read More
    WASHINGTON – Could one of these electoral college nightmares be our destiny? President Bush and Sen. John Kerry deadlock on Tuesday with 269 electoral votes apiece – but a single Bush elector in West Virginia defects, swinging the election to Kerry. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    PORTLAND – Liberal political commentator Al Franken is bringing his radio talk show to Maine the day before Election Day. The former Saturday Night Live comedian and writer will broadcast his national radio show on the Air America network live from the 1,900-seat Merrill Auditorium… Read More
    PORTLAND – Maine’s Green Party is urging a “no” vote on the tax cap referendum on Tuesday’s ballot. The party’s steering committee said it agrees with the intent behind the initiative to provide tax relief to homeowners. But it also says the tax cap is… Read More
    BANGOR – House Speaker Dennis Hastert touted Republican congressional candidate Brian Hamel’s history of bringing jobs to northern Maine, saying the 2nd District’s current representative, Democrat Michael Michaud, has not produced similar results. “Nice guys have to have a record too,” Hastert, an Illinois Republican… Read More
    BREWER – Even though unions are perceived to have strong relationships among its members, the heavyweights still are needed to encourage the ranks to get out to vote – and to vote for Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry. The Republican Party, however, counters that the… Read More
    BANGOR – U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud and his Republican challenger, Brian Hamel, pulled no punches Friday in the final debate in the 2nd Congressional District race, trading barbs on a wide range of issues, including jobs, the war in Iraq and privatization of Social Security. Read More
    ORONO – A push to register student voters at area college campuses appears to be working, according to campus and state officials. The New Voters Project is an effort led by the Secretary of State’s Office under its Promote the Vote program. The goal of… Read More
    PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island has the same number of electoral votes as New Hampshire, but residents here, like Dolores Gaess of East Providence, aren’t being courted as fervently by presidential candidates as their northern neighbors. So on weekends, Gaess – and dozens like her… Read More
    WATERVILLE – In her second Maine campaign stop in a week, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards blasted President Bush’s homeland security policies Friday, accusing the administration of playing to Americans’ worst fears in advance of an election that’s only 10 days away. Read More
    PORTLAND – Police chiefs, wives of the candidates, and prom queens. Everyone’s coming out to support the candidates for president. As Election Day quickly approaches, Democrats and Republicans are picking up the pace to get the message out with both sides sending a stream of… Read More
    BANGOR – While the eight City Council candidates agree in their opposition to Question No. 1 on the state ballot – the so-called Palesky tax cap initiative – they are slightly more divided on Question No. 1 of the city ballot, which concerns the location of Bangor’s police… Read More
    BANGOR – Five men and three women. Ages: 40 to 72. Some local government veterans, others political rookies. The eight candidates jockeying for three open seats on the nonpartisan Bangor City Council are as varied demographically as they are in their approaches to city issues. Read More
    PORTLAND – A 16-year-old Portland boy was stabbed to death Thursday at a Congress Street apartment, police said. The victim, identified as Jarmaine Ramirez, was pronounced dead at Maine Medical Center shortly after the 4:30 p.m. attack. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    BANGOR – Winter parking regulations will begin Nov. 1 and last until March 31. . No vehicle will be allowed to park on any public way, square, or parking area within city limits between midnight and 6 a.m. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    AUBURN – Although hardly a flock that had gone astray, a small group of central Maine Republicans was reminded of the power of prayer Wednesday by Andrew Card, chief of staff for President Bush. During an early morning campaign swing through the Lewiston area, Card… Read More
    A Martin will represent Senate District 35 next session. Voters will decide Nov. 2 if that will be incumbent Democrat John L. Martin of Eagle Lake or Republican newcomer Cathy Martin of Caribou. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
    ROCKLAND – City council candidates answered some tough questions Wednesday night during a formal debate, even a curveball thrown by seven-time mayor and presiding Councilor Tom Molloy. Toward the end of the one-hour session, Molloy asked each candidate to answer “based on the facts –… Read More
    FORT KENT – Along with their ages, the major differences between the Democrat incumbent and Republican hopeful in Maine’s House District 1 during their debate Wednesday night were their positions on loggers’ rights, laptops in schools and helping small business increase in the state. Democrat… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A campaign to register more young voters in Maine, primarily through campus-based activities, surpassed its goal of 5,000 by more than 200, its leaders said Wednesday. The 5,200-plus figure represents more young voters than anyone else has enrolled in a single push in… Read More
    AUGUSTA – With fewer than two weeks before the election, the campaign trail is getting plenty of traffic in Maine from both presidential candidates’ organizations. Between Tuesday and next Monday, no fewer than six appearances were scheduled in Maine by representatives of President Bush and… Read More