At approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, the voting stopped for a minute at the Damariscotta town hall. The line, which stretched around the corner and out the door, was halted as the hold up was investigated.

The cause of the delay? One of the ballot counting machines had overfilled.

Such was life on voting day in Damariscotta.

Town Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cheryl Pinkham said there was no lull in the voters as of 2 p.m. Of Damariscotta's 1,717 registered voters, almost 500 had come to cast their ballots on Election Day.

That total doesn't include the typical after-work rush around 5 p.m. Pinkham said.

“We had 265 (absentee) ballots and it's been steady all day,” she said. “I'm impressed. Every election is a little different, and we weren't quite sure what to expect, but I am honestly impressed.”

Pinkham said that in the last 11 years while she was working elections the results had been up and down, but Tuesday's turnout was closer to a normal, not midterm, election.

The reason, Pinkham thought, was who and what was on the ballot.

“I think a lot of people love to hate one or the other of the governor candidates,” she said. “I would say that was the biggest race, and the reason most people have come in today.

“The bear referendum has been really big, too. I know a lot of people have come in to vote on that, as well.”

The governor’s race between Republican incumbent Paul LePage and Democrat Mike Michaud had been hotly contested, with Independent Elliot Cutler lagging in third place. Question 1, which is the bear baiting and trapping referendum, was also expected to be a hot-button issue.

The Damariscotta town hall is located at 21 School Street. The polls close at 8 p.m. Results from the races will be updated live on www.boothbayregister.com and results will be printed in the Thursday, Nov. 6 edition of the Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper.