Voters reject new gaming sites
Voters statewide backed same-day voter registration, but denied new gambling facilities in Biddeford, Lewiston and Washington County.
Sixty-percent of Mainers who headed to the polls yesterday voted yes on Question 1 to reject a new law requiring voters to register at least two business days before an election, according to tallies from the Bangor Daily News, with 90% of precincts reporting. Voters said no by a slim margin, 55%-45%, to allowing racinos in Biddeford and Washington County. Scarborough Downs proposed relocating to Biddeford and adding slot machines to its harness racing track in partnership with Ocean Properties, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe wanted to open a racino Down East. By a larger margin, 63%-37%, voters also rejected a casino in Lewiston. A group of investors known as Great Falls Recreation and Redevelopment had proposed the casino in Bates Mill No. 5, and supporters blamed Gov. Paul LePage and the media in part for the question's failure, the Sun Journal reported.
Voters narrowly approved amending the Maine Constitution to change the years that congressional redistricting is performed to one year after the decennial U.S. Census instead of three years, starting in 2021.
Meanwhile, voters in Penobscot County approved allowing Hollywood Slots in Bangor to add table games with a 62%-38% margin. General Manager John Osborne said the addition of table games will create another 89 jobs and generate $1.4 million in new tax revenue for the state.
Cumberland County residents voted 58%-42% to support a $33 million renovation of the Cumberland County Civic Center.
A handful of Maine cities also elected new mayors. Karen Heck became the mayor of Waterville, incumbent Colleen Hilton won in Westbrook, and state Rep. Alan Casavant beat incumbent Joanne Twomey in Biddeford, according to reports from the Portland Press Herald and the Morning Sentinel. Jonathan LaBonte ran unopposed for Auburn mayor and won. Lewiston voters will pick their next mayor between Mark Paradis or Robert Macdonald in a special election next month. In Portland, a new ranked-voting system means the winner won't be decided until later today, though Michael Brennan was leading with 26.7% of the total vote, followed by Ethan Strimling with 22.4%.
As of mid-morning, a total of 361,257 of registered Maine voters, or 37.6%, turned out for the election.
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