BANGOR, Maine — Early and absentee voting for Bangor residents begins Monday, Oct. 27, at the Cross Insurance Center on Main Street.
The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is Thursday, Oct. 30, which also is the last day voters will be able to cast their ballots early.
Polls at the arena will be open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those who aren’t yet registered to vote in the city must show proof of their identity and residency in order to register.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Voters in the Queen City will help decide who should serve as Maine’s next governor, who should represent Bangor and Hermon in the State Senate, and whether baiting, trapping and hounding of bears should be banned.
They’ll also determine who will join the Bangor City Council.
Five candidates are running for a trio of seats. Terms are expiring for Council Chairman Ben Sprague and councilors Joe Baldacci and James Gallant. Sprague and Baldacci are running to retain their spots for another three years, while Gallant has decided to forego a re-election bid. Also vying to rejoin the council is Gerry Palmer, a former five-term councilor who served as council chairman in 2008. Hopeful new candidates for the council are Sean Faircloth and Justin Freeman.
The Bangor School Committee race is uncontested, with three candidates running to fill three vacant seats.
For voters who want to wait to hear from candidates for local government before deciding which to vote for, all five council candidates expect to participate in an hourlong forum moderated by election official Mike Gleason on Thursday, Oct. 30. It is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers on the third floor of Bangor City Hall.
That forum will be preceded by another featuring three school committee candidates — Marlene Susi, Susan Sorg and incumbent Warren Caruso. That is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
Polls will be open on Election Day, Nov. 4, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. inside the arena. Voters should enter the parking lot on Buck Street and park behind the building, entering through the Southwest entrance. A shuttle bus will transport people who need assistance to the Southeast entrance, which will reduce the walking distance.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.