As of Oct. 29, approximately one in seven Boothbay peninsula voters had requested an absentee ballot for the  Nov. 6 election. In total, 805 of the 6,036 registered voters in Edgecomb, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport requested ballots. Town clerks reported this is slightly higher than in past years. 

Southport, the smallest peninsula town, has the highest absentee ballot request by percentage. So far, 15.6 percent, or 87 of 555 registered Southport voters, have requested absentee ballots. Boothbay has the second most requests with 13.6 percent of its 2,602 voters seeking an absentee ballot. Of the 355 Boothbay voters requesting early ballots, 179 are Democrats followed by 107 Republicans, 57 unenrolled and 12 Green Independents. In Boothbay Harbor, 16.4 percent, or 296 of the 1,795 registered voters, requested absentee ballots.  Democratic and Republican requests are nearly identical. Democrats lead with  81 and Republicans trail with 79. Unenrolled voters requested 64 absentee ballots and Green Independents had one.

In Edgecomb, 122 of 1,084 or 11.2 percent of registered voters requested absentee ballots. The Edgecomb and Southport town offices couldn’t provide a breakdown of absentee ballot requests by party affiliation.

Under Maine law, the last day for early voting was Thursday, Nov. 1. On Oct. 30, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap clarified how ballots cast for former gubernatorial candidate Alan Caron would be handled. Dunlap indicated all ballots marked for Caron would be declared blank due to the independent candidate’s decision to exit the race. Caron’s withdrawal leaves three candidates remaining on the gubernatorial ballot: Democrat Janet Mills, Independent Terry Hayes and Republican Shawn Moody. 

But voters have more choices in selecting Gov. Paul R. LePage’s successor. Five candidates have registered with the Secretary of State’s office as official write-in candidates: James N. Riley Jr. of Bar Harbor, Kenneth Capron of Portland, John Jenkins of Owls Head, Malon A. Tracy of West Gardiner and J. Martin Vachon of Mariaville. All other write-ins, such as Mickey Mouse, won’t be counted.

Each peninsula town has one voting location. In Boothbay, the polls are at the municipal building at 7 Corey Lane. In Boothbay Harbor, voters will cast ballots inside the fire station at 11 Howard St. In Southport, the polls are in the town hall at 361 Hendricks Hill Road. And in Edgecomb, the polls are inside the town hall meeting room on Town Hall Road. All polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.