As the presidential race between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump grows more intense, Interim Town Manager Alan Mulherin said he wants to ensure he and election clerks can safely monitor ballots and be protected from poll watchers if they become unruly.
The meeting was originally slated for Nov. 22, the evening before Thanksgiving, but the Select Board postponed it so that more members of the public could attend.
Voters elected resident Matthew Cole to fill the remaining term of Harold Tardy, the former board chairperson who resigned in September. Tardy was elected to a three-year term in March but stepped down due to health concerns.
Select Board member Thomas Drew’s unexplained absence led to the cancellation of the meeting.
James Carroll, local business owner of Morning Star Art and Framing, received 1,034 votes and Hank King, safety director with Buck Construction, received 929 votes. Incumbent SAD1 school board member Lori Kenneson ran unopposed and got 65 votes, earning a three-year term.
The weather on Election Day was cold and damp, but it didn’t deter Fort Fairfield voters from making a solid showing at the polls.
Nearly one-third of Houlton’s 3,801 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.
Voter turnout was busier than usual in Caribou, with a steady stream of voters all day long.
In the past, off-year referendum elections have drawn around 1,200 voters, Caribou City Clerk Danielle Brissette said. Just before 4 p.m., 1,100 people had already voted, she said.
Van Buren Town Clerk Jessica Cyr said on Tuesday that turnout had been pretty slow compared to previous years. She said that usually voter traffic picks up between noon and 1 p.m., and then again from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., but at 12:30 there were not as many people showing up compared to past years.
