UPDATE 11/6 10:23 p.m. -- A polling location in Portland stayed open late after a nearby accident caused significant traffic delays.
A judge ruled that the polls at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland were to remain open until 9:30 p.m. instead of closing at 8 p.m. as originally scheduled. The ruling came after a car crash caused road closures in the area and forced voters to find an alternate route to the center.
Workers at the polling location said they were busy all day, but did notice a lull in turn out around the time of the accident on Tuesday evening. They say voters waited in traffic for a long time before they were able to get through.
"One woman was telling me it took her an our from Unum to get here," says Judy Blackwell Smith, who worked at the polling place. "Another person was telling me they had to go through Westbook and come around through Brighton Avenue to circle around. The traffic was pretty bad."
Despite the traffic, workers said they still had voting lines well into the evening hours and applauded the people who waited it out to cast their vote.
UPDATE 11/6 8 p.m. – Ben Grant, attorney for Maine Democrats said the Italian Heritage Center polling location in Portland will remain open until 9:30 p.m. due to traffic issues earlier in the day.
UPDATE 11/6 7:50 p.m. – Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said Maine Democrats want the polls to stay open because of the Portland crash.
At some point tonight (probably soon) the Maine AG will be meeting with a lawyer to discuss the matter.
In the meantime, Maine Democrats are looking to put a restraining order in place to keep the Portland polls open later than 8 p.m.
PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A vehicle crash involving a telephone pole on Portland's Congress Street caused power outages in the area.
Due to the outages, flights were delayed at the Portland Jetport.
Congress Street was closed off from Stevens Avenue to Westbrook Street, city dispatch said.
Dispatch said it was unclear how long it would take for crews to clear the scene.
One of the city's 12 voting locations, the Italian Heritage Center, is less than a thousand feet from Bradley's Corner, where Congress and Stevens meet.
In a tweet, the city advised anyone trying to get to the polling location to access Westland Street via the Shaw’s parking lot.
According to Mayor Ethan Strimling, 1,700 precinct residents had already cast ballots.
