Some polling places in Maine have voters lined up out the door, and Secretary of State Matt Dunlap says he believes turnout will beat the 2014 midterm record, perhaps substantially.But he’s not ready to predict that it will reach the levels of a presidential election year. “I don’t want to say that we are going to exceed that just yet. We have predicted as high as 65 percent turnout of eligible voters turning out for this cycle.”
In a presidential election, Maine's turnout often exceeds 70 percent.
Dunlap says nearly 200,000 absentee ballots were requested and 175,000 were returned by Monday. Ballots can be turned in to town and city clerks until polls close tonight.
Dunlap has crisscrossed the state today, visiting polling places from Portland to Lewiston, to Brunswick and Bangor. He says voters seemed resolved to cast their ballots, even when forced to wait in line and brave wet weather.
“They have predicted heavier rain into the evening, but we have had such high turnout already, I don’t think that’s going to have a significant impact on the overall numbers,” he says.
