The heated presidential campaign will likely spark big turnouts on Election Day in communities like Buxton and Gorham, and voting records could be eclipsed. Town clerks in both communities are preparing for huge voter turnouts.

Gorham will also conduct its annul municipal election. Gorham Town Council candidates are James J. Hager Jr., Benjamin E. Hartwell and Paul R. Smith with three seats available. Hartwell, the incumbent, is seeking another term. Town Council Chairman Matthew Robinson and Town Councilor Bruce Roullard opted to not run.

Kyle Currier is seeking a School Committee seat with two vacancies in uncontested races. Expiring School Committee terms are those of Kyle Bailey and Sean Curran.

Hager is a former longtime School Committee member and chairman. He’s a project manager in a firm based in Biddeford.

Hartwell is a law student at the University of Maine in Portland. He operates a farm and a fencing business.

Smith is a general contractor who made the news recently trucking the remains of a huge whale to Gorham for composting. Smith is making his first run for political office.

Kyle Currier, a former School Committee member, is a certified public accountant in Gorham. Currier has also chaired the School Committee

While the municipal candidates have no opposition on the ballot, Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors said this week all write-in votes will be counted. Early indicators are for big balloting numbers.

“As of today, we have had 2,157 requests for ballots, issued 2,078 and returned 1,158,” Nordfors reported Tuesday with the election just 14 days away.

Nordfors said the state sent Gorham ballots for a 100 percent turnout.

“But, I am thinking possible 80 percent,” Nordors said. “We have 13,156 active registered voters in Gorham.

In Gorham’s 2012 election, 9,073 ballots were cast in the presidential race. So, under an 80 percent turnout prediction this year, 10,524 votes could be cast.

Because of the anticiparted high turnout in Gorham, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Sanborn said town officials have requested a presence at Gorham polling places, including one school.

“I don’t suspect we’ll have any problems,” Sanborn said Tuesday.

Gorham’s Ward 1-1 votes at Gorham Middle School. Gorham Police School Resource Officer Mike Coffin will be on duty there, Sanborn said, while school is in session.

Heather Perry, school superintendent, said additional precautions would be implemented at the school.

“We will also be utilizing additional volunteer police department folks to help staff the polling location and make sure that all traffic flows in the correct manner and remains isolated from the remainder of the school,” Perry said. “There will be no access from the public to our students during the day.”

Perry said Assistant Superintendent Chris Record and Gorham Middle School Principal Robert Riley met with Police Chief  Daniel Jones “on site about a week ago to do a walk through and to make sure all potential security issues were discussed and addressed.”

Sanborn said police will periodically check the other Gorham polling locations.

For the unregistered who want to vote, each town will accept voter registrations on Election Day.

In Buxton, Town Clerk John Myers said Tuesday he is also expecting a record turnout in town, besting the record 4,682 ballots cast in the 2004 presidential election. Myers  also predicted an 80 percent turnout this year of Buxton’s 5,900 registered voters, which would equate to 4,700 ballots cast. Buxton voters cast  4,412 ballots in the 2012 presidential voting.

Myers said his office has received 1,000 absentee ballot requests so far and 650 have been turned in. There is no local ballot in Buxton.

Buxton Town Hall, 185 Portland Road, will be open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, as additional hours to issue absentee ballots and to register voters. The last day for Buxton voters to request a regular, absentee ballot will be 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3. After that, a special circumstances absentee ballot application must be signed.

A closer look:

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, Buxton polls are open 6 a.m.-8 p.m. at Buxton Town Hall, 185 Portland Road.

Gorham polls are open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Ward 1-1 votes at Gorham Middle School, 106 Weeks Road; Ward 1-2, Little Falls Activity Center, 40 Acorn St.; Ward 2, Shaw Gym, Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St.

James Hager

Benjamin Hartwell

 

Paul Smith