Medicaid expansion draws early voters to polls
"Everybody deserves access to health care," Larkin said after voting in favor of the ballot measure to expand Medicaid to newly cover an estimated 70,000 Mainers.
Larkin works in the transportation division of the Penquis Community Action Program, a not-for-profit organization that assists low-income families and senior citizens.
"We hear stories all the time from people who aren't eligible for health care," she said. "All kinds of problems, including depression and social isolation, flow from people not having health care."
For
"The return on the state's investment in people's health is going to be enormous," she said as she headed into vote at the
If passed, Question 2 would expand Medicaid eligibility to adults younger than 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That's annual income of
In an October poll, about 69 percent of respondents favored a "yes" vote on Question 2.
"We expect
Even if Medicaid expansion draws people to the polls, turnout is not expected to top 30 percent statewide, Secretary of State
It was unclear early on
But visits to polling places Tuesday in
"Turnout appears to be strong in small towns with hot-button issues like
No major voting problems had been reported, he said.
As voters left polling places in
That included petitioners seeking enough signatures for a people's veto of the Legislature's delay in implementing ranked-choice voting, passed in last year's election. In a ranked-choice system, voters may choose multiple candidates in order of preference, instead of voting for one candidate.
Representatives from the
Candidates and their representatives seeking support for next year's crowded governor's race also spoke with voters after they'd cast their ballots.
State Treasurer
Hayes said she also urged voters to check the unclaimed properties program on the treasurer's website to see if their names were listed. As of Tuesday morning, the office was holding more than
"I have a lot of Mainers' money I'd like to get rid of," she said.
Watch bangordailynews.com for updates.
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