Maine's top election official had predicted a turnout of 35 percent, but he now says it was at least 50 percent, and might have been as high as 60 percent.

The turnout in yesterday’s election was far heavier than Maine's Secretary of State had expected.  Matthew Dunlap had predicted a turnout of about 35 percent, but he now concedes that more than half the state’s eligible voters turned up at the polls.

Elections officials in several cities and towns reported heavy turnout and long lines, and Dunlap says the turnout could ultimately end up being as high as 60 percent, unusually high in an off-off election year, with no candidates on the ballot.

But there were several contentious initiatives on the ballot, including one to repeal Maine’s newly-enacted gay marriage law.  Voters approved the repeal by a narrow margin.