LEWISTON — Voters in Lewiston and Auburn were at the polls in solid numbers early Tuesday morning even as roughly one-third had already submitted their absentee ballots.

At the Longley School on Birch Street, which serves three wards and nearly half of the city’s voters, there was a small line as doors opened at 7 a.m. The same occurred at the Lewiston Armory on Central Avenue, where ward clerk Patti Gagne said there was a line out the door and into the parking lot.

At Auburn Hall on Court Street, warden Bob Hayes said there was a steady flow all morning, with the first voters lined up outside at 6:30 a.m.

Outside the polls, voters said they turned out for the presidential election, but some said they also wanted to vote for down-ballot candidates who have more direct impact to local communities. Others said they wanted to just get Election Day out of the way so the attack ads will stop.

“It’s unbelievable the money spent,” Claire Bourgoin said. “And we’re collecting food for the homeless at the local parish.”

Bourgoin, 80, said she votes for pro-life candidates due to her religious beliefs and has never missed an election. She said she was encouraged Tuesday morning to see so many young people voting.

At the armory, a first-time voter who wished to remain anonymous said she came out to vote against former President Donald Trump due to his stance on abortion rights. She also said his party’s use of tax cuts for the wealthy hurt the average low- or middle-income citizen. Asked why she wished to remain anonymous, she said it was out of fear of retaliation.

Outside Longley School, Robert Reed, who has been involved in local politics in several capacities, said he believes the presidential and Maine 2nd Congressional District races will be extremely close. He said as a conservative, he also came out to support Angus King for U.S. Senate.

“He’s done wonders for the people of Maine,” he said. “I don’t always vote party line. There’s certain candidates that are just right for Maine.”

Gail Rodrigue, a registered independent, said she’s voted in every election since she was 18. She said while the presidential and congressional races are getting the most attention, she hadn’t seen much coverage of the bond issues.

“It is a privilege to be able to vote,” she said, “but all you see on TV is the trashing on both sides.”

In Auburn, former City Councilor David Gatchell was placing his absentee ballot into the drop box outside Auburn Hall. He said it’s important for voters to cast ballots for local representatives and not just the presidential race.

“As we know, politics starts at the bottom and works its way up, so if we don’t have our say about the representatives we elect here, we can’t complain about the big guys,” he said. “We’ve got to have our little troops, and it works.”

‘LEVEL OF TRUST’

Lewiston City Clerk Kathy Montejo said nearly 8,300 residents had voted early, with the city having roughly 30,000 registered voters. Nearly all of those early votes were processed Friday by 30 volunteers at City Hall, she said.

By noontime Tuesday, 2,750 people had voted at polling locations in Auburn. By Election Day, 6,318 absentee ballots were issued, and 6,046 had been returned so far. In the last two presidential elections, Auburn averaged about 12,000 voters.

As elections have become more closely scrutinized, Montejo said her office receives more questions, and does everything they can to assure voters that the process is secure. She said she reminds voters not to apply issues seen in other states to local elections in Maine, since states have different election rules. She also said since elections are conducted at the municipal level in Maine, rather than the county level like some states, volunteers are often recognizable to voters.

“It provides a level of trust,” she said. “People see family members or co-workers, and you don’t necessarily see that in other parts of the country.”

Reed said he has concerns about noncitizens voting in local elections, but wishes the Maine Secretary of State’s Office would respond more directly to allegations made by conservative news outlets like the Maine Wire.

“If it’s not happening, just come out and say it’s not happening,” he said.

Montejo said she encourages people to reach out to her office with any questions, because she believes social media tends to rile people up, and questions and concerns can be cleared up by election officials. Per state law, all polling locations have the same number of registered Democrats and Republicans working to process and count votes.

“You already have people from both parties working, watching for that balance and that integrity,” she said.

OUTSIDE LEWISTON-AUBURN

Across the Sun Journal’s coverage area, municipalities big and small were experiencing steady turnout, some long lines and voters eager to do their civic duty.

Around 11 a.m. at the Sabattus Town Hall, the parking lot was overflowing. One woman left complaining of the long line and said she would come back later. The line to vote downstairs wrapped all the way up the staircase to the entrance, making it almost impassable. Candidates greeting voters at the entrance anecdotally said some 200 voters were lined up to vote in nearby Greene when the polling place opened there.

In Livermore Falls, Stephen Groomes still hadn’t decided who would get his vote in Maine’s hotly contested 2nd Congressional District when he stepped in line at the Livermore Falls fire station Tuesday.

Asked if he planned to vote for Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Golden or Republican challenger Austin Theriault, Groomes said, “I don’t know about that one. By the time I get to vote it will be there,” and he’d be ready to mark the ballot.

Voters in Livermore Falls also considered whether the town should purchase a new cruiser for the Livermore Falls Police Department. Henry Pile said he supported the spending.

“If they need a new vehicle, we should get them a new vehicle,” Pile said.

In Durham, doors to the Durham Community School were flanked by House 98 candidate Kilton Webb and House 20 candidates Bettyann Sheats and Dustin Ward, thanking residents for coming out to vote.

Sheats, a Democrat, said voting was steady throughout the morning and Ward, an independent, said civility, refreshingly, was abound.

“People have been wonderful, polite,” Sheats said.

A resident going only by the name of “Shawn” shuffled past out of the school past incoming voters when he shared that everybody should be driven out to vote because, as the old adage goes, “You can’t complain if you don’t vote.”

“I’m a felon, so that’s how I voted,” Shawn said with a smile, referring to former president Donald Trump. Asked what big issues Trump would be able to work on, Shawn offered up the “amount of money lining people’s pockets” and government overreach on environment issues.

“We’re not saving the planet with all this horse [expletive], basically,” Shawn said, adding, “I voted for Theriault as well. He’s a race car driver, pretty well rounded guy. I think Jared Golden lied to get where he got, and that’s what I hate about politicians the most. Not much trust anymore.”

Amy Crosby was at the polls with her 4-year-old daughter, Scout, determined to get her vote in for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I think it’s an important election with education and women’s rights. These really are her future,” Crosby said motioning to Scout perched on her hip and adding that a great candidate for the first female president may just be in sight. “And getting a former teacher for vice president? Amazing, right?”

In Greene, a steady trickle of voters made their way into the 106 Patten Road volunteer fire department building Tuesday morning.

As fire department members continued setting out cones and putting extra yellow tape up to guide vehicle and foot traffic, Maya Comeau said she went into the voting booth unsure of who she would vote for. However, due to ranked choice voting, she decided to put Libertarian Chase Oliver in the number one spot.

“From there, it went a little downhill,” Comeau said of the remaining elections and ballot initiatives. “I’m really mostly excited that the election is going to be over.”

Comeau said she did research throughout the election season, studying each candidates’ platform, and though she “knows (Oliver) isn’t going to get the vote,” she liked what he had to say.

“That’s why I voted for him,” Comeau continued. “But the two party platform — if we could get away from that, it would be wonderful. If we could go back to the way that they used to do it — like whoever came in second, that was your vice president — it would be kind of cool. That would make them have to work together and I feel as though we’d have a little bit more push and pull. We’d have a little more compromise.”

Staff writers Christopher Wheelock, Pam Harnden, and Joe Charpentier also contributed to this report.