Election update Maine: I worked as an election clerk in Ellsworth, Maine this morning. With contested primaries for governor in both parties, voter turnout was above average-in fact a line when the polls opened at 8 am and steady traffic through to 1:30 pm when I was relieved.
Counting absentee ballots: the polls close at 7 pm EST. All absentee ballots must be received by that time at the city clerk’s office. One of the city employees then make a final run of absentee ballots to each of the city’s wards. We received batches through out the morning. One Democratic and one Republican open each envelop and check the ballot with our voter rolls. Once verified the ballots are run through the scanner (my job today).
Who can vote in a primary election: voters in Maine can fall into one of five categories: Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarin, or unenrolled. Republican can only vote in the Republican Primary, Democrats can only vote in the Democrat Party. Green and Libertarians had no candidates running so they did not receive a ballot. Unenrolled voters can request either a Republican ballot or a Democrat ballot but not both. One can switch party affliations but to get a ballot you must switch at least 15 days before the election.
I had to deal with one Karen-a Green who wanted a Democrat ballot and thought she could change affiliations on election day. Too bad so sad, she could not! She became quite upset I told her we were following state law.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. ET in Maine, where voters are choosing nominees for governor, the Senate and the House in a primary that has gotten significant national attention.
Maine uses ranked choice voting, which means some winners may not be known until the state tabulates second-choice votes and more after Election Day.
All eyes are on the Democratic Senate primary, in which oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner enters primary day as the Democratic front-runner despite a series of controversies and heavy scrutiny. The winner will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election.
Term limits have created an open race for governor, with crowded primaries for both of the parties. And an open congressional district in northern Maine is among the most important on the ballot, too.
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
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