Tech issues sent some Washington County voters home to cast their ballots for delegates in Saturday’s democratic caucus at Washington County Community College in Calais.
Most of the unresolved problems came from voters who registered with landline numbers and an email that they were unable to access until they returned to home computers, according to Maine Democrats.
The confusion in Washington County highlights the unprecedented nature of the Maine Democratic Party’s process to find a new nominee for the U.S. Senate race after Graham Platner dropped out earlier this month. County committees had little time to come up with plans for this weekend’s caucuses, which will determine the delegates who will cast votes for a Senate nominee in Bangor next week.
“A meeting like this usually takes months to plan,” said County Democratic Party Chair Lisa Marin. “We had 10 days to get this done. This couldn’t happen in most states, but Maine is not like most states, are we?”
Nearly 100 of 225 registered Washington County voters were on tap to vote in-person at 10 a.m.
Shortly after, Marin explained that voters’ choices would be automatically tabulated by the Maine Democratic Party once they completed their digital ballot.
“Today we are asking for your vote for delegates to represent our county next week at the Maine Democratic Party’s nominating convention in Bangor, where a U.S. Senate nominee will be chosen,” she said. “We are not directly voting for candidates for Senate today.”
Each voter was to receive their ballot by text on their cellphone. Three representatives from the Maine Democratic Party were available to help people who did not get a text, were not technologically savvy or not prepared with cellphones.
Once the poll was opened, dings started ringing through the auditorium as many of the voters received ballots and voted.
At the same time, hands started raising from voters who never received a text. Those included voting Sergeant at Arms Ted Carter, who said he only has a landline, and Martha Howell, who did not get a text despite having a cellphone.
Maine Dems staffers were able to assist several voters who registered with cellphones but did not receive their text.
“If you don’t have any way to access your email or are just having trouble we have volunteers here who can help you,” Marin said.
Voting was slated to close after 30 minutes but was extended until 2 p.m. to give the voters time to go home and vote.
“I just talked to [Maine Democrat Party], due to the technology issues they are keeping the window open for a minimum of three hours,” Marin said. “People can go home and vote from home. Your ballots will still be open when you get there.”
