FARMINGTON — Town clerks reported a strong, steady flow of voters coming out Tuesday to polling places to cast votes in the greater Franklin County region.

“It’s actually my first time voting and it was terrifying that this was the first election I voted in,” Samantha Doucet, 19, of Farmington said, referring to the election of a new president.

“I am with Hillary,” she said. “I like her values.”

Doucet was accompanied to the polls by Dan Keller, 20, of Farmington. The couple are University of Maine at Farmington students.

“I voted for Clinton,” Keller said. “I am part of the (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and I don’t think that under Trump that good things are going to come from it. I don’t want to fear for my life. I am just a young kid. I’m not taken seriously on a lot of things, and by at least trying to change the legislation I feel like I have a voice.”

At 5:45 p.m. 2,638 Farmington voters had cast ballots, election poll volunteer Stephan Bunker said.

Farmington Town Clerk Leanne Dickey and Ballot Clerk Shane Cote registered voters early in October by holding two registration sessions at UMF open to anyone from Farmington. They registered about 80 new voters, Cote said.

As of early Tuesday night they had reached another 550 new voter registrations, nearly 200 more than during the 2012 presidential election.

A line of voters waited to cast ballots between 8 and 9 a.m., with smaller lines at other times, Dickey said.

“Right now we are about where we were at in 2012,” Cote said about total votes cast.

Voting was strong and steady in Jay as well.

“It has been steady but not unbearable,” Jay Town Clerk Ronda Palmer said. “I just think with the new system everything goes smooth.”

By late afternoon more than half the town’s 3,300 registered voters had cast ballots, with 1,390 residents voting in person and 736 by absentee ballot. About 150 new voters registered.

Jean Gilbert, the wife of state Rep. Paul Gilbert, D-Jay, who is not seeking re-election, was registering new voters.

“It’s been a busy day. I think it is wonderful,” Gilbert said.

About noon, Livermore Town Clerk Renda Guild said voter turnout had been absolutely unbelievable. Four hundred had voted by absentee ballot and 379 had already stopped in to vote.

“There were a lot of new registrations this morning,” Guild said.

At 5 p.m., Chesterville Election Warden Jim Grippe said people were waiting before 8 a.m. and voting was steady throughout the day. At that time, more than 600 votes had been cast in a town with 960 registered voters, he said.

“People seem to appreciate the paper ballots, although it will take longer to count them,” Grippe said.

“The mood’s been upbeat with zero political discussions. People are tired of the controversy. Many are happy the ad season is done,” he said.

Grippe said a lot of disabled people voted, some of whom couldn’t write because of injuries, and adjustments were made as needed. “It’s nice to see those who have a hard time making the effort to vote. It’s a great testament to the American election system,” Grippe said.

Jamison Turner said he had voted in the presidential elections once he became old enough. This one is more of a joke than anything else, he said.

“I didn’t feel strongly for either candidate. This one’s hard,” Turner said.

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