I'm a relative newcomer to Maine. Here's what the divided swing state looks like on the ground before the election, and what voting was like for me.
- Maine is one of a few key battleground states that will be decisive in the 2020 presidential election.
- Writer Mary Kearl, who recently moved to Maine with her husband and toddler to be closer to her parents, says yard signs highlight the division among the state's residents.
- On the ground, she's seen signs ranging from "Veterans for Trump," to "Dump Trump," to simply "Honor Ruth. Vote."
- Still, in-person interactions are primarily friendly, Kearl says, and most Mainers are following the state's mask-wearing mandate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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2020 has been the year of the yard sign. From birthdays and baby showers to graduations and anniversaries, I've observed so many of my neighbors' milestones — moments that, if not for the pandemic, might have otherwise been celebrated in person — marked with banners and signs around my community.
Now that we're amidst one of the most heated US presidential campaigns in history, the political yard sign — long a staple during election seasons — has been added to the mix, shedding light on how people intend to vote, block by block.
As a relative newcomer to Maine, which has been named one of 12 so-called "super states" — swing states that include a mix of urban, suburban, and rural populations that tend to alternate back and forth between red and blue from one election cycle to the next — I can't help but notice the extremely divided political signs where I live in Knox County, population 39,772, a relatively small, rural county in the state.
House by house, the views of my neighbors are so dramatically, visibly different in a way that feels different from when I lived in firmly red or decidedly blue states.
The AP has reported that Maine could play a "pivotal role" in this year's presidential race, in part, due to the fact that it is one of two states (alongside Nebraska) that splits its Electoral College votes by congressional district. In 2016, three of Maine's electoral votes went to Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton and one went to President Donald Trump.
Here's a glimpse of what that division looks like on the ground.
Driving around, and taking in all of these signs, it's obvious there are clear differences about how people in Maine feel about this election. At an individual level, from my in-person interactions, I haven't experienced much division.
When I went to vote for the first time through in-person, early voting at our town office, I had no idea about the politics of the officials who took my ballot to be counted. When I go on one of my frequent hikes around the area's many trails, most people wear masks, keep their distance, and say nothing more than a brief hello. At the grocery store, everyone has been respectful of keeping a distance and following the mask mandate.
It's unclear what things will look like after the election, and how the division will manifest itself after the campaign signs get taken down. As much as I hope this will not continue to be the case — for the sake of everyone's health — mask wearing may be another symbol of polarization in the state that will persist, no matter what this year's election results bring.