Voters cast their ballots at Kennebunk Town Hall on Election Day. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Maine voters eager to cast ballots in the historic presidential race flooded to Maine polling places throughout the day Tuesday, with some waiting in lines even after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

Many locations were plagued by long lines on Election Day even though nearly 40% of voters cast absentee ballots beforehand. Final turnout numbers were not available Tuesday night.

About a half dozen polling places in Maine were affected by a wave of hoax calls about school shooting threats, including the South Portland Community Center and Deering High School in Portland. No other major issues were reported related to the election.

While the presidential race was by far the biggest draw, voters said they were also eager to cast ballots on state and local issues including the hotly contested race for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and a referendum asking if Maine should change its state flag.

“We’re seeing strong turnout all across the state,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said just before 6 p.m. “Everywhere we’ve been clerks have attested to it being a very strong year.”

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS VOTE ABSENTEE

In 2020, which saw the highest-ever turnout nationally, Maine saw about 820,000 people cast ballots, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The turnout rate that year was 76.2% of the population of citizens of voting age, which was the highest of any federal general election dating to 2010.

Sarah Catalano, right, and her daughter Gwen Catalano, 19, wait in line to vote just after 6 a.m. Tuesday at Buxton Town Hall. This year is Gwen’s first time voting in an election. The pair decided to come early because she has class during the day. “I just want her voice to be heard,” Sarah Catalano said of her daughter. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 372,462 absentee ballots had been accepted and returned, and voters still had until 8 p.m. to return absentee ballots. That represents about 39% of active registered voters based on June voter registration data from the secretary of state’s office, which is the most up to date total of registered voters.

Maine doesn’t have electronic poll books like some states do. Instead, clerks check people in to vote on paper lists, so it will take some time for official turnout numbers and results to be reported to the state and certified, though Bellows said the state might be able to get a sense of turnout later Tuesday as municipalities begin reporting unofficial results.

In Portland, city spokesperson Jessica Grondin said most precincts had averaged about 1,300 to 1,500 voters by 5:30 p.m. with Peaks Island at 450 voters and lines still in place everywhere. About 19,500 absentee ballots were requested in Portland.

And some polling places stayed open past 8 p.m. Tuesday to accommodate voters who were still in line.

Portland saw 42,097 people cast ballots in the last presidential election in 2020. Grondin said it was too soon to say early Tuesday evening if the city would be close to that.

SWATTING REPORTED AT SOME LOCATIONS

Across Maine, town and city clerks were reporting strong turnout throughout the day, starting in Buxton, which was one of the first polling places to open at 6 a.m. Town Clerk John Myers, who was working his 10th presidential election, wasn’t surprised by the early morning turnout of folks who like to cast their ballots in person before heading to work or school.

Before Election Day, 39% of the town’s 7,200 registered voters voted by absentee ballot. More than 400 people registered to vote in the past month, Myers said.

In a flurry of activity, Westbrook voters make their way in and out of voting booths at Westbrook Community Center early Tuesday evening. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

In Cape Elizabeth, Town Clerk Angela Frawley said turnout had been “pleasantly steady” all day. “We had a strong start, when people flooded in, and we had some lines,” Frawley said. “We had some surges throughout the day, but mostly it was steady.”

More than half of Cape Elizabeth’s registered voters – about 4,500 residents – cast absentee ballots early, she said. “I bet we’ll be over 80% in the end,” Frawley said. “That’s my prediction. Cape Elizabeth always has a high turnout.”

The swatting calls reported at schools around the state impacted polling places in a half dozen communities including Windham, Scarborough, Lewiston, Portland, Sanford and South Portland, Bellows said. The incidents largely did not disrupt voting, although the South Portland Community Center was locked down for about 15 minutes, during which local police said voting was “temporarily but only minimally impacted.”

“Law enforcement and elections officials acted perfectly,” Bellows said. “Law enforcement quickly identified the swatting as hoaxes and were in strong communication with election officials, so voting was able to continue strongly, safely and smoothly.”

A line of voters wraps around Woodfords Club in Portland on Election Day. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

The League of Women Voters of Maine released a report Tuesday night on activity at polling places around the state, saying the election overall ran smoothly with few obstacles or disruptions to voting, though many locations reported lines and waiting times.

The report also said there were several incidents of racial intimidation in which non-white voters were harassed or intimidated, but were still able to cast ballots. A spokesperson for the League of Women Voters did not respond late Tuesday to requests for more information.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE A PULL 

In Biddeford, John Collins, 70, stood outside the city’s polling place holding a sign with a simple, handwritten message: “TRUMP IS A FRAUD VOTE BLUE!”

As he spoke, a handful of drivers honked their horns and waved. Others shouted and flashed obscene hand gestures.

“Nothing I’m doing here is going to change the outcome of the election, but no one person is going to be able to do that anyway,” Collins said. “If I can make (Trump supporters) a little less comfortable in their beliefs that they hold, just for a minute, then that’s something.”

Voters fill out ballots at Kents Hill School’s Alfond Athletic Center in Readfield, Maine, on Election Day morning. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Guy Vance parked next to Collins and said he appreciated the sign. He planned to vote for Harris.

Vance said he almost skipped voting this year, because he felt there was too much hostility among both campaigns, but he felt he had to act against Trump. “I can’t stand Trump,” said Vance, 65. “I don’t like when someone thinks he’s great.”

In the Androscoggin County town of Greene, Marion Bourgoin put Trump down as her top vote because she expects him to close the U.S. borders to illegal immigrants and to improve the economy. The voting experience was fulfilling and exciting, she said.

“My God, I’m still shaking,” Bourgoin said, adding that Austin Theriault and Demi Kouzounas also got her vote in the 2nd District and U.S. Senate races, respectively. “We’ve got to get rid of Angus (King). He’s been there long enough and it’s just time for him to go.”

Sidney Morrill, center with flag shirt on, and his wife Caroline wait to scan their ballots at the South Portland Community Center on Tuesday. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

In South Portland, some voters were divided over the state referendum asking if Maine should replace the current state flag with a new flag based on the one used from 1901 to 1909 and featuring a pine tree and star.

At the Stewart Morrill American Legion Post, Olivia and Henry Kean waited toward the back of a long line as the polling place opened around 7 a.m. They were somewhat divided on Question 5 for the new flag. “I just don’t care,” Olivia Kean, 30, said with a laugh.

Henry Kean, 32, was torn.  He likes the new design, he said, and they even fly an Old Pine flag in their yard, but he would miss seeing the state seal on the current flag. “Honestly, I think it will be a game-time decision,” he said.