With Mainers set to choose a new governor and vote in several crucial races on Tuesday, the Bangor Daily News is focusing on providing information you need to make informed decisions ahead of the election. As soon as polls close, we’ll begin sharing speedy returns from precincts across the state.
From exit polling to local results and live Election Day coverage, here’s what you need to know about our plans for Nov. 6.
No paywall, free subscriptions
First of all, we’ve taken down the paywall so you’ll have unfettered access to information about the election. We know we said we’d only do this for public safety, but voting is important and we want you to have all the information you need. (Plus, it’s common practice for newspapers, and it aligns with our mission of providing important information about big news events.) Open access began today and will run through Wednesday.
Second, we usually publish a primer on what you need to know to vote in Maine, and publish it the day before the election. This time we’ve posted it early. Here’s the link .
We’ve also added a bonus: readers of the voter guide who ace this quiz will be entered to win one of two 1-year subscriptions to the BDN, an $89 value.
Data!
On election night, we’ll have all the latest returns from hundreds of races around the state, from governor and U.S. Senate to Waterville City Council and the school bond question in School Administrative District 1.
The BDN is partnering again with Decision Desk HQ to call major races using data we collect from municipal officials across the state. We’ll also run a live blog with updates from reporters across the state.
Finally, we’ll be conducting exit polls on Election Day at eight polling places in each congressional district. Those data could help us forecast likely winners in the congressional races — if ranked-choice voting comes into play — and inform future analysis on the races.
The polling will be done in partnership with FairVote, a national organization that advocates for more open elections.
We did similar polling as an experiment in the June primaries, and it allowed us to forecast that Janet Mills would be the Democratic gubernatorial nominee and that Jared Golden would get that party’s nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.
Thanks for reading.