Sanford resident Michael Labbe cast his ballot on the last day of early voting, Oct. 31, 2024, at city hall. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
Sanford residents Erin Larsen and Michael Labbe were among the steady stream of people at city hall who cast their ballots on the last day of early voting on Thursday. Both said they were mainly motivated by the presidential race and the hope for a better America, though they have different ideas about what that looks like and the best candidate to achieve that goal.
Larsen said she reluctantly made decisions in nearly all of the races on the ballot. “Politicians will say what you want to hear,” Larsen said, a belief she holds regardless of party or office. That is aside from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
In Larsen’s view, Trump is an exception because he’s not a career politician. She said she doesn’t like Trump’s name calling but likes that he doesn’t sugarcoat things. Her top concerns are the economy and immigration. “Our country is being destroyed from within,” Larsen said, echoing remarks Trump has made about his political rivals.
Alternatively, Labbe said Trump is the last person he would believe, pointing to the former president’s record of false and misleading claims.
Labbe, who voted for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, said he wants a leader he can trust, who also values the diversity of America and does not fuel division. Recalling Saturday mornings as a child watching Schoolhouse Rock and learning about the melting pot, Labbe said, riddle him naive, but he still believes the country is the sum of all of its parts.
“There was no choice,” Labbe said of the presidential race.
Larsen and Labbe were among thousands of Mainers who voted early this year, either in-person at their respective town offices or by mail-in ballot. The number of absentee ballots requested and returned has already surpassed absentee votes in the 2016 presidential election, the last comparable year as the 2020 presidential race occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For some, a sense of urgency and eagerness drove them to ensure their choices up and down the ballot were squared away as soon as possible. Others said they cast their ballots early for logistical reasons — an injury that would’ve made it challenging to stand in long lines, juggling work on Election Day, or the availability of a family member to assist with reading the ballot for a voter who is visually impaired.
The votes these Mainers cast, and the reasons that drove them to their decisions, were just as varied.
The better America Mainers envision
On a rainy, foggy morning in Searsport, Joanna Young cast her ballot for Harris — thinking less about herself and more so about future generations. Right now, she said she questions why anyone would want to bring children into the world, given its current state.
Minutes before, David Connors and his daughter Clover Connors cast their votes for the opposing candidate, with a toddler in tow sporting one of their “I voted” stickers.
“We’re Trump fans,” Clover said about what drove the pair to the polls.
David, who’d never voted early previously, wanted to get his vote in as soon as he could because, he said, “I want to save America.”
Throughout her life, Young had considered herself to be someone always willing and able to understand other points of view. With the current presidential race, that is no longer the case, she said.
“I’m flummoxed by support for Trump,” Young said, listing off his refusal to accept the democratic election process and his use of derogatory and hateful rhetoric. “You can’t laugh it off… This feels barbaric.”
Now retired, David said he often spends his time watching news on TV and has become concerned about border security in particular. “That’s why I’m here,” he said. “I’m tired of watching all of these horrible things.”
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Many voters pointed to things they objected to when explaining their decisions, a common one being Trump’s rhetoric.
Paul Beauregard of Topsham is concerned about the tone whoever assumes the Oval Office will set for the country. After voting for Harris last week, Paul said, “The other guy is too hateful. He’s disruptive. It’s time to calm things down, get some stability and get stuff done.”
Dianne Smith of Searsport said she asks, “Do you really respect this person?,” when she hears people plan to vote for Trump. “Would you want your children to look up to him as a role model?”
A former independent, Smith said for the first time this election cycle she is actively involved in voter turnout efforts and has been doorknocking for the local Democratic Party. When speaking with prospective voters, she said she has become troubled by those who discount Trump’s derogatory comments as not his true beliefs. She is highly concerned that a presidential candidate has said he admires dictators.
Voters of both major parties cited the economy as a top concern.
Peter Ginchereau, a carpenter from Lewiston, said he voted for Trump because he thinks he will curtail what he views as excessive government spending. An 83-year-old Searsport resident said he retired to Maine specifically because of its low taxes compared to elsewhere in the country. While he considers himself an independent, he voted for Trump because he thinks he will lower taxes, as well as food and gas prices.
In Smith’s conversations with those across the political spectrum, she says she often sees support for Trump boiling down to people believing their lives were better off during his former presidency, specifically financially.
Smith worries such voters think presidents have more power over the economy than they actually do. Forces beyond the president’s control, including the federal reserve, largely determine the economic trajectory of a president’s tenure, she said. Regardless, Smith added, “I wish people would view life as more than making money.”
Voters were generally most informed about the presidential contest, followed by races for U.S. Congress, though state races drew some intrigue, including in Searsport where incumbent Republican state Rep. Raegan Paul is being challenged by Democrat Scott Cuddy, who formerly held the seat. The 83-year-old resident, who asked not to be named, voted for Paul, in part because of his opposition to offshore wind, which has become a topic of much debate as Searsport is the site of the state’s proposed windport.
Many voters said they made decisions up and down the ballot based on party alone, though some emphasized the need for elected officials who buck the current hyper-partisan political climate. Several specifically mentioned independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, the incumbent for Senate.
Augusta resident Billie Eaton voted Democrat across the board, with the exception of King. Eaton said she was formerly an independent and has also voted Republican, including previously for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who is not up for election this cycle.
Eaton is concerned about Trump not accepting the election results again. She is also concerned about reproductive rights, which she said is not only personal for her as a woman but because of close family members who received life-saving abortions.
When asked if any races in particular drew her to the polls, Eaton said, “honestly, on this ballot, it’s democracy.”
When Trump lost the election in 2020, a group of hi’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack the FBI has classified as domestic terrorism that threatened the peaceful transfer of power, resulted in several deaths and injured approximately 140 police officers. The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee concluded in its final report that Trump was the central cause of the attack.
Some Maine Republicans who are sticking by Trump do not think the former president is to blame, including Larsen from Sanford. While she called January 6 unacceptable, she doesn’t hold Trump accountable.
The district that could determine the U.S. House majority — and the White House
Of interest among early voters in the northern 80% of the state was the race for the 2nd Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is seeking reelection against Republican challenger Austin Theriault, a freshman state legislator.
In 2016 and 2020, the 2nd District went for Trump. Maine is one of only two states that allow for split electoral votes, awarding one elector to the winner of each congressional district and two to the winner of the statewide vote. But, 2016 was the first time the votes actually split.
Fred Elwell, a Republican from Auburn, voted for Trump for president. For Congress, he said he almost chose Golden but didn’t because he ultimately felt he was “too wishy washy” — echoing Theriault’s oft-repeated critique of Golden as a “flip flopper.”
That framing did not appeal to some other 2nd District voters, including Linda Harris, who is unenrolled with any political party and recently moved from Poland to Augusta.
Harris, 84, said she remembers when she first voted when she was 21, the voting age at the time. Rules and beliefs change overtime, she said, which is one reason why the “flip flopper” charge doesn’t resonate with her.
“The things that you thought were right or good five years ago, you might not think that way anymore because times have changed and you’ve changed,” Harris said.
She voted early with her daughter, Jody Harris. Jody, who works at the progressive Maine Center for Economic Policy, said she admired Golden changing his stance on gun control in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting last October, which left 18 dead and 13 injured.
An independent voter from Augusta, who had previously been a registered Democrat, said he didn’t particularly like Golden or agree with many of his policy stances — but, for him, that’s not the point.
“He doesn’t always vote the way I’d like on issues but having that seat in the House helps,” said the voter, who didn’t want to share his name, explaining that another Democrat could impact which party holds control of the chamber.
“Golden is kind of waffly,” the voter said, “but at the end of the day if I don’t agree with all of his policies, and even personally think he’s insulted some of his voters, I think he’s doing what he has to do to stay in office.”
Golden has alienated some voters because of his continued support for Israel despite its ongoing deadly offensive on Gaza, including the declared write-in candidate for the 2nd District, Diana Merenda. The war in Gaza has fractured Democrats this election cycle across the country.
Outside the 2nd District, Lara Rosen of Portland spoke to how her frustration with the Democratic Party’s stance on conflict in the Middle East factored into her decision to vote for Harris for president.
“The thing that really motivates me is part of what you’re doing is choosing the administration who you want to be organizing under,” Rosen said.
The big, small town that is Maine
While the presidential candidates may be distant figures for most Mainers, as neither Trump nor Harris made campaign stops in the state this election cycle, those running for offices closer to home were often personally known to voters.
Elwell, the Republican from Auburn, shook the hand of Republican candidate Bruce Bickford as he exited the city council chambers where he cast his ballot early on Thursday.
Bickford is one of three candidates running for the open seat vacated by Republican state Sen. Eric Brakey, who is moving to New Hampshire to direct a Libertarian group and not seeking reelection. Democrat Bettyann Sheats, who lost to Brakey in 2022 by less than 200 votes, and independent Dustin Ward are also on the ballot for Maine Senate District 20.
It remains to be seen how personal connections play into the three-way race but for Elwell, the ability to share his concerns with Bickford helps him feel more confident that the candidate will act in his best interest if elected.
Elwell is blind and wants whoever wins the state Senate seat to help ensure all sidewalks have truncated domes, which alert people with visual impairments to stop at roadways. They also help service animals, like his service dog Bella, Elwell said.
His mother, Magdalena Elwell, voted in Topsham where she lives, but accompanied her son to vote early in Auburn to assist with reading his ballot.
While the mother-son duo disagreed on a few of the bonds, they otherwise voted the same — straight Republican up and down the ballot. “We’re a Republican family,” Magdalena said.
The Elwells, who said they are of Mexican descent and still have family in Mexico, are highly concerned about immigration, particularly people entering the U.S. illegally and in large numbers — a common concern among other Republican voters.
Larsen, the Republican from Sanford, said she fears attention is being taken away from her children at school for kids who need to learn English, as Sanford has seen growth in its immigrant population in the past year. She added, “We have no idea who these people are.”
Lewiston resident Ikram Abdo, who immigrated in 2016, can’t vote and likely won’t be able to for at least another five years. But, she said she still read up on all the candidates and likes to be informed about what’s happening in government. She loves her community and has been heartened by her neighbors coming together in the wake of the mass shooting last year.
She hopes that type of solidarity bears out in election results.
“I want people to be well informed,” she said, and exercise their right to vote in the interest of their whole community, including her.
Not seeing eye-to-eye on candidates but on a reluctance to “talk politics”
Many voters across Maine were steadfast in their candidates of choice. What voters were able to find common ground on, however, was an overall reluctance to talk politics in their daily lives.
Portland resident Pris Nelson, 78, who is voting for Harris, said she wrote on social media asking, “How can I get along with someone who votes for Trump?” and was only met with animosity. She hasn’t had luck in face-to-face conversations either. She has friends voting for Trump but when it comes to actually talking about their diverging candidates of choice, she said, “It’s off the table. It’s just off the table.”
For an Augusta couple, one a Democrat and the other an independent, even when they are talking to a person they generally agree with, they said they fear the productiveness of the conversation is overtaken by the intensity of emotions.
For Larsen, the Republican from Sanford, that tension bears out within her own home. Larsen has been married to her husband, a Democrat, for 15 years. While Larsen comes from a family of Republicans and her husband a family of Democrats, she said their party allegiances did not come up until later in their relationship and now the pair often avoid political conversations altogether.
“It gets very heated all the time,” Larsen said. “But, you want to have open conversations with the one person you trust.”
Labbe, the lifelong Democrat who also voted early in Sanford, often avoids talking politics too, specifically at his retail job but also in most day-to-day interactions. He largely doesn’t offer up his views unless he’s asked, he said.
While being reluctant to discuss politics in their own lives, dozens of early voters told Maine Morning Star they longed to be able to have productive political conversations again.
Eaton, the Democrat from Augusta, said she wants others to take a step back and think about the political climate a decade ago. “Nobody spoke to each other this way,” Eaton said. “We might have had differences in opinion on how to address problems, but at least we were doing it in a cohesive manner with everybody participating.”
An independent from Augusta said he believes, deep down, voters are less ideologically polarized than they think they are.
“I wish people would stop looking at the letters next to a candidate,” the voter said, “and actually look at the policies and how they’re going to impact people.”
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