Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap told me just now that turnout there is far exceeding his projections -- news that would be good news for backers of same-sex marriage.The day is gorgeous, for the record."We're seeing heavy and very steady turnout," he said, attributing the surprise to the contested vote on a "people's veto" of a same-sex marriage law driving Mainers to the polls.
The city of Bangor -- Maine's third largest, and likely to tilt against repeal -- is projecting turnout over 50%, he said, and local analysts have said that higher turnout would likely favor the marriage law.
"I think we could be over 50%" for the state," Dunlap said. "We originally projected 35%."
The day is "comfortable," he said, by local standards, partly cloudy with weather in the upper 40s. The polls close at 8:00 p.m.
The Better Half and I were in Bangor a week and a half ago. It didn't feel particularly gay-friendly, but I don't live there and don't know a thing about its relative progressiveness. I do know that the marriage equality GOTV effort has been huge, and I am hoping against hope that the higher-than-expected numbers are a reflection of that effort.
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It doesn't look good according to www.openleft.com as of the last post this evening, but there's lots of absentee ballots to count, and I have no idea what the demographics are on Maine's absentee population, historically. Good luck, Dan.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the YES votes have this one: 0 for 31 I am thinking...ouch
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad day in Mudville. I am so at a loss for words that my fellow Mainers do not see us as their equal. Now is the time we need the likes of our local Anglican Shepard to say a prayer for our empty hearts.
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