Copyright Bangor Daily News
Tuesday’s general election will not bear the hallmarks of recent elections. No presidential election, nor Senate or House showdown, will be decided by Maine voters at the polls. But several prominent statewide referendum questions concerning voter ID and a red flag law and a handful of municipal positions are on the ballot in Aroostook County communities, giving voters the opportunity to shape policy and the immediate future of their local governing bodies. Below is a list of what will be on the ballot in Aroostook municipalities and where residents can vote. Where can I vote? Assembled using the state’s Voting Place Report, clicking on any municipality in the map below will display its designated polling place, its address and the time that polls open. Municipalities shown in dark green have a designated polling place. The regions colored light green have no permanent residents and therefore no polling location. Maine election law mandates that all polls close at 8 p.m., except in municipalities with a population less than 100, which may close after all registered voters have voted. Statewide referendum questions Click on a question to expand for more information. Question 1: “Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections?” This long question would put Maine among 36 states that require voters to show a form of ID before voting, something that is only required before registering to vote here now. It also includes significant restrictions on absentee voting. Notably, it would get rid of the ability to request ballots by phone and on behalf of family members and overturn a 2024 law that allowed older voters or those with disabilities to sign up to automatically get absentee ballots. Those different elements have led to a dissonant campaign. Republicans who support the referendum have focused on voter ID, which is popular in both Maine and national surveys. But voters are also keen on liberal absentee voting policies like the ones we have here. Consequently, the Democratic-led group on the no side is called “Save Maine Absentee Voting.” Question 2: “Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?” This is best known as a “red flag law,” a gun control policy that 21 states and Washington, D.C., have. It is a more direct path to gun seizures than Maine’s 2019 law that allows police to take a person into protective custody and order a mental health evaluation before petitioning a judge to temporarily remove weapons from people deemed dangerous. The current “yellow flag” was a compromise brokered between Gov. Janet Mills and advocates on both sides of the gun debate. It was rarely used until the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, which led to scrutiny around how the law was passed and police use of it. Increased awareness and legal tweaks have led Maine police to use it more than 1,000 times since then. Question 2’s backers, including many Democrats, say the current law is inadequate and families should be allowed to trigger the process in time of crisis. Gun-rights groups, including the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, the National Rifle Association and prominent Republicans, cite due process concerns. Mills also backs a no vote. Read more on the referendum questions here and in the Bangor Daily News’ 2025 Maine Voter Guide. Municipal Elections Click on a race to expand for more information. Presque Isle City Council In a reversal from recent years, where several Presque Isle City Council candidates have run unopposed, there are six individuals running to fill two open council seats in this election. Incumbent Harold Hull, interim Councilor Tim Levesque and Herman Legassie are running for an open four-year seat on the council. Both Hull and Levesque have been on the council for less than a year. Hull was elected via special election in March to fill a seat that opened following the death of former councilor Garry Nelson in October 2024. The council appointed Levesque in August after then-councilor Meg Hegemann resigned in July. Hull is running on a platform that includes tackling the “affordability crisis,” in part by lessening municipal tax burden and addressing public safety issues within Presque Isle. Levesque said he is running to “improve transparency, transparency, efficiency and accountability in city government,” citing his desire to curb rising local taxes and promote housing and infrastructure projects. Legassie is not interested in “changing anything major at this time,” he said in a candidate video, and instead wants to get a feel of “what’s going on with the city council” first. He has cited homelessness in the city and rising property taxes as concerns. In the city’s other council race, newcomers Craig Hemphill, Debra Plummer and Carli-Simon Cleaves are vying for the three-year seat currently held by Levesque. Hemphill, one of the candidates who lost the March special election to Hull, said in August that he would like the opportunity to serve on the council to “do the best I could for the community.” He has not publicly presented any policy. Plummer said in a candidate video that she is running to “be a voice for the people,” and mentioned high property taxes, homelessness and the “drug problem” as issues she would address if elected. Simon-Cleaves said her biggest priority on the council would be cutting “unnecessary spending” while finding ways to grow the local economy. “My goal is to make Presque Isle more affordable and financially stable for everyone,” she said. A seventh candidate, Mikaela Henninger, had qualified for the ballot for the three-year seat in September and announced her candidacy, but has since dropped out of the race. Read more about the candidates here. School Board There are seven open seats on the MSAD 1 Board of Directors, the school district that encompasses Presque Isle, Mapleton, Westfield, Chapman and Castle Hill. Candidates are running to fill seats in three districts, all unopposed. Board chair Lucy Richard is looking to retain her seat in Section 12, which covers some of the residential area around Presque Isle High School and Zippel Elementary and from North Street to the Aroostook River. Cole Staples, the incumbent in Section 6, which covers the northernmost area of the city, north of the Brewer Road, is also running to keep his position. Shawn Berube, a newcomer, is running to replace Brandy Cronin in Section 8, which encompasses much of the southeast end of the city, including Pine Street Elementary and Mantle Lake. He would serve out the remainder of her three-year term, which expires in 2027. Section 1, Section 11 and Section 16 will all be newly vacant roles as their directors — Dan Edgecomb, Curtis Culberson and Jenny Paul, respectively — will not seek reelection. Section 17, which no candidates ran for in the 2024 election, will remain vacant. Caribou City Council Incumbent Dan Bagley, Ben Tucker and Lori Knight-Phair are vying for two three-year seats on the Caribou City Council. The race is an at-large election, meaning the two candidates with the most votes will be elected to the council. Bagley is running for reelection for the first time. His priorities include “ensuring critical investments” in the city while “exercising fiscal restraint.” Tucker, who lost his first city council bid last November, is a registered Libertarian who describes himself as “very fiscally conservative.” That extends to the policies he would promote on the council, he said. Making Caribou more “business friendly” is among his other points of focus. Knight-Phair, the principal of the nearby Connor Consolidated School, said in September that she believes in “common sense politics,” and mentioned curbing blight, promoting government transparency and the combatting substance abuse in Caribou as priorities. Click here to read more about the candidates. School Board Four candidates are running for one seat on the school board of RSU 39, the school district that also includes the nearby town of Stockholm. Former board member Betheny Anderson, former planning board chair Amanda Jandreau, Jacob Beaupre and Christina Peterson all qualified for the ballot. Click here to read more about the candidates. Jefferson Cary Memorial Hospital Fund Board Roger Soucy is running unopposed for a three-year seat on the Jefferson Cary Memorial Hospital Fund. Fort Fairfield Town Council Incumbents Keith Thibeau and Pat Canavan are running unopposed in Fort Fairfield to retain their three-year seats on the town council. Both were first elected in 2022. School Board Incumbent Angela Cormier is looking to retain her three-year seat on MSAD 20 school board. Running to oust her is Ashley Churchill. Houlton Municipal Referendum Question 1: “Shall the town be authorized to commit and borrow up to $2,200,000 to improve and maintain roads and sidewalks?” This bond question, recommended in September by the Houlton Town Council and Board of Budget Review, is for funding to support a road project on South Street and for milling and paving the downtown area. It has come into question in recent weeks, however, because Houlton Town Manager Cameron Clark, the official who requested the funding, has been placed on administrative leave in the wake of his felony arrest in late September. Amid that saga, most of the council that recommended the funding has since resigned, putting a question on the ballot that most of the town’s current governing body had no say in. Click here to read more about the referendum question. Town Council Two former councilors, Jane Torres and Alexis Brown, will be on the ballot to fill the two three-year council seats they previously held, but it’s unclear if either will take the positions if elected. Both resigned from the council in October amid the controversy that swelled from the late September arrest of Houlton Town Manager Cameron Clark on charges of domestic violence assault and felony victim tampering. Brown resigned because the council initially kept Clark on the job. Torres resigned a week later after the council voted to put him on administrative leave. Torres told the Bangor Daily News she was “unsure” if she would accept the position if elected. Brown has not responded to multiple requests for comment on if she would take the position. Brandon Carmichael and Carl Young are declared write-in candidates in the race. In a separate race, former councilor Sue Tortello is running unopposed for a one-year seat on the council currently held by Eileen McLaughlin, who will term out this year. Read more about the council races here. School Board There is one three-year seat and one one-year seat open on the RSU 39 school board, a district that also includes Hammond, Littleton and Monticello. Former district athletic director and Houlton High School football coach Jon Soloman will be the only name on the ballot for the three-year seat, but Micheal Carlos is a declared write-in candidate in the race. No candidates will be on the ballot for the one-year seat, though current board member Cassandra Nightingale is a declared write-in candidate. Cary Library Board of Trustees Library board chair Lauren Fitzpatrick is running unopposed to retain her five-year seat, as is board member Cody Woods for a four-year term. Houlton Water Company Board Water company board president Joshua McLaughlin is running for reelection for a three-year term on the board, which oversees the operation of the divisions of Houlton Water Company including water, sewer and electrical utility services in the region. Board member Isaac Brown is also looking to retain his seat. The race is an at-large election with two open seats, meaning neither candidate is facing competition. Board of Budget Review None of Houlton’s eight open seats on its Board of Budget Review will have candidates on Tuesday’s ballot, but several have declared as official write-in candidates. Joshua Perez is looking to be elected to one of three-available three-year seats on the board; Marc Scott and Peter Chase are hoping to fill the two two-year board terms; Nancy Chalmers has declared her candidacy for one of three open one-year terms.
