Dozens of Harpswell voters converged on the town’s sole polling location early Tuesday, driven by concerns including women’s health care, inflation and the economy, and the future of American democracy.
The parking lot was full and a growing line had formed by 8 a.m. outside Harpswell Community School, with voters waiting anxiously to cast their ballots. Town officials were expecting heavy turnout despite about 2,100 residents already having turned in absentee ballots.
Harpswell’s local ballot includes five referendum questions, and voters also will decide races for county, state and federal offices, as well as five statewide ballot measures. Still, voters said big-picture issues were foremost in their minds Tuesday.
Greeting voters at the door was Doug Nielsen, a volunteer election worker and retired pastor who lives on Basin Cove. He said fellow election volunteers are split down the line politically but share a commitment to the idea that voting is important.
As a pastor, Nielsen said, he always stressed the importance of greeting newcomers and making them feel welcome.
“So now I’m getting to practice what I preach,” he said.
Voters in line included Sydney Greenlee, of Cundy’s Harbor, a doctoral candidate in oceanography at the University of Maine. Greenlee said she was worried about the loss of women’s reproductive rights, as well as political threats to the pursuit of scientific research.
“Access to health care should be a fundamental right for all women,” she said, adding that she was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of UMaine.
Greenlee said she was “cautiously optimistic” that the majority of voters shared her concerns and would cast their ballots accordingly.
Cundy’s Harbor resident Michael Murphy said concerns about immigration, inflation and the economy were among the main reasons he came out to vote, as well as his opposition to transgender athletes participating in women’s sports.
Murphy said he has never voted absentee and favors voter ID laws to protect the integrity of elections.
“This country needs fixing, and we need a change,” he said. “I feel optimistic — I think people’s common sense is going to prevail.”
Joe Henry, of Harpswell, said a “commitment to democracy, inclusivity, compassion and civility” led him to want to cast a ballot Tuesday.
Henry expressed concerns about protecting women’s reproductive rights, as well as the sanctity of free and fair elections and the democratic process. He also believes in showing compassion toward immigrants.
Henry said he was feeling “hopeful, but not comfortable” about the election’s outcome, “because the house is on fire.”
Herrick Johnson, of Orr’s Island, said he came out to vote because democracy itself was on the line. He voiced exasperation that many Americans “are in a cult and do not understand data.”
Despite those concerns, Johnson said he was feeling reasonably confident about the outcome of the presidential election.
“I have a feeling that we’re going to do alright this year,” he said, “because a certain candidate has pissed off so many different groups of people.”
The Harpswell Anchor will report Harpswell’s election results here when they come in, likely late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
