Politics
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WALES, Maine — Armed with a list of names and a box of pens, Town Clerk Sharon Siegel sat ready to greet voters weighing in on the Regional School Unit 4 budget. At stake was $23 million to benefit more than 1,300 students.
By mid-afternoon, Siegel only had the chance to interact with around 30 people, including several fellow town officials and — to her apparent surprise — a reporter.
Maine has some of the highest voter turnout in the nation. Summer elections that are largely reserved for school budget referendums typically see low interest. But a large number of initial budget failures are pushing these decisions deeper into the summer. Combined with odd local issues, they threaten to leave more big decisions in the hands of a few.
When Oakland held a special town meeting on July 9 to decide whether or not to buy its police department AI-powered body cameras capable of partially generating police reports, turnout was low. The technology has been controversial nationally, sparking concerns over bias in AI and overpolicing.
The Morning Sentinel said about 25 people showed up. That added up to around 0.5 percent turnout. It passed by a wide margin, and a few of those voters were members of the police department, Oakland Town Councilor Dana Wrigley said.
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“That’s a remarkably unengaged electorate,” Jacob Posik, a spokesperson for the conservative Maine Policy Institute, said.
School budget votes that typically come in June often fall into a gap on Maine’s political calendar. Many of Maine’s smaller towns hold town meetings in March. In even-numbered years, the state holds June primaries ahead of the November general election. But the school referendums happen every year and do not necessarily line up with primaries.
This year is different because at least 16 districts rejected their initial budgets, stretching debates deeper into the summer. In Litchfield, Wales and Sabattus, voters approved the budget on the second try on Tuesday. There were 557 voters and turnout of 7.2 percent.
Sabattus Town Clerk Brenda Letourneau presided over a quiet precinct in the town office basement on voting day. She said few in the Androscoggin County town of 5,000 show up for school budget votes.
“This is how they always are,” she said. “When it’s in November, then it’s different.”
State lawmakers have examined low-turnout summer elections. A 2023 bill would have made school districts align their budget votes with primaries. It was opposed by the Maine School Management Association, which represents school boards. The group successfully lobbied for a change to the bill that allowed districts more time to send budgets to voters.
While little has changed in this area, the elections are a rare area of agreement for those on the right and left. Posik noted that good summer weather depresses votes, while Jen Lancaster of the liberal Democracy Maine said low turnout can lead to measures passing that are not supported by most residents.
Don’t blame Gretchen Gardner, who showed up at the Litchfield town office on Tuesday. Despite not having kids in the system, she helped pass the budget.
“Voting is our one way that our voice can really, really matter,” she said. “We really all should have that strong responsibility, and to some degree can’t be too upset about the outcomes that affect you if you don’t get out and vote.”
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural politics as part of the partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.