HOULTON, Maine — Residents of Houlton turned out in larger than expected numbers to vote in the Super Tuesday election at the Gentle Memorial Building as well as to vote on the special referendum election on Question 1 regarding Maine’s new immunization law.
Cathy O’Leary, town clerk and deputy registrar for the town of Houlton, said that the flow of voters remained steady throughout the day. As of 2 p.m., O’Leary estimated that more than 350 voters had turned out so far, with more expected later in the day after traditional working hours.
“It’s a lot busier than we anticipated,” said O’Leary. “I’m not sure what’s bringing everyone out, but it’s some for the referendum and others of course who are interested in the parties.”
Question 1 on the special referendum asks Maine voters if they want to reject the new law that removes religious and philosophical exemptions to requiring immunizations against certain diseases in order for students to attend schools as well as health care workers. Proponents of a “Yes” vote claim the law results in excessive government regulation, while “No” voters seek to approve the new exemptions.
“We don’t want the government to have more control,” said Doris Rollins, who voted “Yes” on the question. When asked who she was supporting for president, she didn’t need much time to answer: “Trump all the way.”
But Jasper Lee, a fellow Republican, said he voted “No”. “I think our children should be vaccinated to stop other children from getting diseases,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of helping the other kids that are there.”
While Trump is running unopposed on the Republican ballot, there are several Democratic candidates vying for the nomination of their party. The race in recent days has begun to narrow down between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, representing the progressive and moderate wings of the party, respectively. Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg are also on the ballot.
Kristal Martin, who is an independent but voted with the Democrats in the primaries, said she ultimately decided to go with Biden.
“It was really hard to choose between the Democratic candidates,” she said, saying she decided to go with Biden after seeing former candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar support him. Regarding Sanders, she said “I understand what he’s saying, but I think if you can work, you should work.”
Also at the Gentle Memorial Building was Debbie Beers, a volunteer through the Maine GOP, who was gathering signatures to try to repeal Maine’s ranked-choice voting system in the presidential election. Beers said that she had gathered more than 140 signatures for the petition.
“I just think it should be one person, one vote,” said Beers. “It’s always been that way, and it should be that way.”
Maine is just one of 14 states that have its primary this Tuesday, including Massachusetts and Vermont.
In total, 917 people voted on Tuesday in Houlton. Regarding the referendum, 554 people voted “No” on Question 1, while 358 voted “Yes”. In the Democratic Primary, Joe Biden gained the most votes with 124, followed by Sanders with 74, Warren with 38 and Bloomberg with 30. Twenty-two additional voters cast ballots for candidates who had dropped out or submitted a write-in. Trump, running unopposed, still gathered 347 votes.
