Gorham voters will go to the polls on March 5 to choose candidates for the 2024 presidential election in November. There are no other candidates or issues on the ballots. However, unlike previous primaries, this year voters with no political affiliation may chose to vote in either the Republican or Democrat primaries. They do not need to be registered voters in either of these two parties.

Known as a semi-open primary, this primary permits unenrolled voters to request a ballot for any party holding a nomination election. This year only Democrats and Republicans will be choosing presidential candidates. Voters enrolled in the Libertarian, No Labels, or Green Independent parties may not vote.

If a voter was enrolled in one party and wanted to vote in another party’s election, they would have had to make that switch before the Feb. 19 deadline. Otherwise they may only vote for candidates in the party for which they remain registered. Unenrolled voters may request either ballot when voting absentee or at the polls on election day. Gorham residents may register to vote at the polls, but may vote only if they choose to be unenrolled or to vote in the primary of the party with which they register.

Just to make things more complicated, this is a ranked-choice election. Voters may make first, second, and third choices for presidential candidates that appear on the ballot. If no candidate on the Maine ballot receives 51% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated and their supporter’s second choices will receive their votes. In a ranked-choice election, this process continues until a candidate has 51% of the votes.

There are three candidates on the Democrat ballot: Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, and declared write-in candidate Stephen Lyons. Voters may rank them. Under Maine law, no other write-in candidates will be counted. When any of these three candidates receive 51% of the vote, they will be the winner of the Maine primary.

There are five candidates on the Republican ballot: Ryan Binkley, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Donald Trump. However, only votes for Nikki Haley and Donald Trump will count, because the other candidates have withdrawn. Voters may rank Haley or Trump as their first and second choices. When either get 51% of the votes they will be the winner.

This paragraph applies particularly to voters who changed parties for this election. They must remain in that party for three months before changing back. The three months begins on the day they changed their affiliation, The deadline for changing parties is 15 days before an election. To vote in the June 11 primary election for state and local candidates, voters must have changed their registration by May 28, 2024. Voters who are unenrolled or new voters may register in a political party up to and on election day and cast ballots in their chosen party’s primary.

Indications are that this will be a low turn-out election. According to Laurie Nordfors, Gorham Town Clerk, as of Feb. 14, only ten people had come to the Municipal Building to change parties. “It is surprisingly not busy with absentee ballots,” she said. “As of today we have only 260 requests.”

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 5. Ward 1 voters will vote at Gorham Middle School. Voters in Ward 1-2 will vote at Great Falls Elementary School, and Ward 2 residents vote at Shaw Gym at the Municipal Center. Absentee ballots may be deposited in the box at the Municipal Center up to 8 p.m. on Election Day, or brought to the Clerk’s Office during regular business hours, Monday through Thursday.