With a record turnout expected for municipal balloting in the Nov. 5 election, Gorham voters will choose two town councilors, two School Committee members and decide on a pair of local school borrowing referendums.

The candidates vying for two seats with three-year terms on the Town Council are James Hager Jr., Janet Kuech, George Vercelli and David Willis. The Town Council race is wide open, with current board members Lee Pratt and Virginia Wilder Cross stepping down.

For the School Committee, Marilyn Amoroso, Eric Thistle and incumbent Nicole Yeo-Fisher are competing in the three-way race for a pair of three-year seats. Current School Committee member Anne Schools is not running.

The school department in local referendum Question 1 is looking to borrow up to nearly $9.5 million for high school projects that include a cafeteria expansion, six modular classrooms and one adult education bathroom, along with an HVAC project at Narragansett Elementary School.

The total cost over 20 years would be nearly $12.7 million, which includes about $3.2 million in interest.

Local referendum Question 2 is asking to borrow up to about $2.5 million to relocate tennis courts from the high school to the middle school. The total cost to be repaid over 20 years would be nearly $3.4 million, with $839,531 in interest.

The town already has $35.9 million in outstanding debt going into Election Day.

As of Monday, Oct. 7, Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors had issued 2,047 absentee ballots and expected the number to rise. Gorham processed 7,926 absentee ballots in the 2020 presidential election, and Nordfors believes this year’s number of absentee ballots would likely eclipse that total.

To request an absentee ballot, residents can call Nordfors’ office at 222-1670 or request one in person at the municipal center, 75 South St.

“They can also vote in the office now, as well,” Nordfors said. “Starting Oct. 21, we will have election workers in the council chambers for absentee voting in person during regular Town Clerk office hours and also on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to noon.”

Gorham polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ward 1-1 votes at Gorham Middle School, 106 Weeks Road; Ward 1-2 at Great Falls Elementary School, 73 Justice Way; and Ward 2 at Shaw Gym, Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St. (Parking is available at the Municipal Center, a lot off Ball Park Road.)

Not sure where to vote? Visit gorham-me.org and click on the Town Clerk’s page for a map of voting wards, under election information.