Posted: 12:42 PM
Updated: 1:44 PM
Maine voter turnout steady, higher than expected
Voters in Portland face a marijuana proposal and South Portland residents weigh in on a question aimed at preventing the shipment of tar-sands oil through the city.
By Edward D. Murphy emurphy@pressherald.com
Staff Writer
Voter turnout appeared to be running ahead of expectations Tuesday, especially in Portland and South Portland, where local referendum questions drew people to the polls.
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Erin Segal, 3, watches as election clerk Wealthanne Jordan helps Erin’s mother, Amy Segal, process her ballot at one of 500 new voting machines provided by the state to precincts with more than 1,000 voters. She was voting at the National Guard Armory on Stevens Avenue in Portland.
Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer
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Voters wait patiently in line as Sarah Heeley, holding her daughter Charlotte Heeley, 2, gets help from a South Portland election clerk trying to get a voting machine to accept her ballots Tuesday. The warden at the American Legion Hall voting site for Ward 2, Precinct 1, said the machines were very slow processing the ballots, causing a long line of voters.
Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer
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A steady stream of voters headed into the South Portland Community Center, with many saying they were drawn by a proposal that would prohibit so-called tar-sands oil from being shipped through the waterfront or transmitted from Canada via the South Portland-to-Montreal pipeline.
Mark Potter, the warden at the precinct, said about 800 people had voted at the community center by 11 a.m. He said that represents a good turnout for the city, which has about 8,000 registered voters split between two precincts.
A line to cast ballots ran about 25 people deep, but Potter said that was largely due to new voting machines that alert voters if they’ve submitted an improper ballot, such as voting for more people than allowed in an individual race. The machines take about 10 to 15 seconds to determine if the ballot is flawed, Potter said, and many voters waited to make sure there was no problem before moving on, he said, causing a slight backup.
He also said voters had to fill out two ballots, one for local issues and races and a second statewide ballot for bond issues.
The Waterfront Protection Ordinance seemed to be uppermost in the minds of many South Portland voters.
John McCall and Andrea McCall said they both voted for the ordinance because they said a spill of tar-sands oil could be devastating.
John McCall said he had researched the proposal and still was a bit confused by the claims of the ordinance’s supporters, who said it’s needed to prevent tar-sands oil from flowing through the port, and opponents, who said passage could cost jobs.
Andrea McCall said she thought the proposal may have been too restrictive, “but better to err on the side of the environment.”
Susan Henderson and Scott Hatch said they both voted for the ordinance after initially being unsure about it and Tom D’Andrea said he, too, thinks the city should adopt the proposal to protect the environment.
D’Andrea said he also turned out to oppose bond proposals for both the state and in South Portland. The state is seeking approval of five bonds totaling nearly $150 million, while South Portland is asking voters to approve a $14 million bond for a new municipal services building. D’Andrea said the local and state governments are carrying too much debt.
In Portland, Munjoy Hill precinct warden Denise Shames said voters were waiting for her to open the polls Tuesday morning and the turnout was steady throughout the morning.
Judy Allen said she wanted to vote against city councilors who had approved selling part of downtown’s Congress Square Plaza to the owner of an adjacent hotel and also to support a referendum question that would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.
“It’s a stupid law,” she said.
Another voter, Lora Winslow, agreed, saying the city shouldn’t use scarce resources to catch and prosecute those using a small amount of pot.
Even though residents were already voting, some last-minute politicking was taking place. Local candidates in South Portland and Portland greeted voters as they arrived to vote, while Kyle Dixon handed out postcard-size fliers downtown in support of the marijuana referendum.
Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com
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