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Turnout in Tuesday’s election blew away even the most liberal of estimates. Preliminary results showed more than 567,000 voters participated in the election — less than 200,000 fewer than in last year’s presidential election.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap estimated 35 percent turnout earlier in the week and raised that estimate to 50 percent as voters started to cast their ballots Tuesday. But an unofficial tally of election results provided by the Bangor Daily News estimated Tuesday’s participation at 60 percent. Turnout in off-year referendum elections is generally 15 to 25 percent turnout, Dunlap said.

Official results won’t be available for several weeks.

Dunlap said Tuesday polling places were experiencing “very steady to quite strong turnout,” driven by contentious ballot issues such as Question 1, which vetoed Maine’s same-sex marriage law. He said no major problems had been reported at the polls.

Orono had 4,323 voters cast ballots this year, compared with 5,820 last year, according to the Orono Town Office.

• Dunlap: Turnout much higher than expected (November 3, 2009)
• Voter turnout sets new records for UM campus (November 3, 2004)
• 81 percent of campus voters: ‘No’ on 1 (November 10, 2005)
• Write-in candidates take almost 14 percent of vote (December 6, 2007)
• Punk show benefits Coats for Kids despite turnout (February 3, 2003)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, 5:22 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.