BANGOR, Maine — Four years ago, the city of Bangor consolidated its Election Day polling places from eight to four.
Now, it’s seriously considering trimming to only one, a move that would make it the largest city in Maine to use only one polling station.
City Clerk Patti Dubois brought a request this week to the finance committee to use the Bangor Civic Center for special elections and keep the other three locations closed. It would improve efficiency, she said, and potentially save the city money.
Some committee members, however, liked the idea so much that they proposed having one polling place for all elections.
Councilors Pat Blanchette and Gerry Palmer, in particular, expressed strong interest in using just the civic center during elections.
“We fool ourselves to think that times haven’t changed,” Palmer said. “If we put all of our resources in one place, we could save a lot of money. And all of our other [polling] places are substandard.”
Blanchette even made a motion to amend Dubois’ initial request to include all elections and tried to push a vote through at Monday’s meeting. Finance committee chairman Richard Stone, however, took a step back and said the idea would likely need more discussion. It will now go to the full City Council for a first reading and will then be followed by a public hearing.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Dubois said Tuesday of the finance committee’s reaction. “But I think it’s a good idea. You’re consolidating resources into one location, but you still have the same amount of staff and machines.”
Dubois first brought up the idea of having one polling place four years ago, but she said the council at the time didn’t go for it. Instead, they compromised and trimmed the number from eight to four.
Some concerns that came up four years ago are likely to be revisited this time around. Voters, particularly older voters, are used to voting at the same place and may not be keen to drive a long distance. Also, the civic center is not located centrally within the city, meaning some residents would have to drive significantly farther than others.
Palmer said he was sympathetic to those concerns, but the increase in absentee voting — specifically in-person absentee voting, which already occurs solely at the civic center — has made things run much more smoothly.
Noelle Merrill, executive director of the Eastern Area Agency on Aging, agreed that absentee voting has changed the landscape for older voters.
“We’ve been trying to market the early voting and absentee voting,” she said. “A lot of people don’t have to wait for [Election Day] anymore, which gives them flexibility. The only thing that would be an issue for a lot of the people we serve is if hours changed.”
During this year’s election, about 80 percent of Bangor’s registered voters turned out and half of that total cast absentee ballots. Dubois said the civic center could easily handle that volume because the city would still have the same number of volunteers and voting machines.
“The other good thing about the civic center is that we own it,” she said. “And if we wanted to try it out, now would be a good time,”
Dubois said the city could try one polling place for next June’s special election, which she predicted would draw only about 10 percent of registered voters.
“Other communities have done this with success,” said Palmer, noting that nearby Brewer uses only one polling place, although it has about one-third the number of registered voters as Bangor.
Another potential issue that could turn residents off is change. Voting is the most fundamental of civic duties, and residents often revel in their traditions.
“There are people that have become accustomed to voting in their neighborhood, but I think once people became aware that there was a single polling place, they would come around,” Dubois said. “With anything, there are advantages and disadvantages.”
Palmer said he looked forward to the debate.
“I don’t want to discount people who have a history of voting at a specific place,” he said. “I think it will be a good discussion, and I don’t mind slowing down and listening to all sides.”