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By Zendelle Bouchard
At the Sanford City Council’s Sept. 2 meeting, Councilors Pete Tranchemontagne and Jonathan Martell stressed the need for the city to ensure there are restrooms available for the public to use at the polls on voting day, Nov. 4. Both men said they received multiple complaints after the last election, including from candidates and poll watchers who were there for an extended period of time.
City Clerk Sue Cote said when polling places were consolidated to Sanford High School last year, she expected that the school would be closed for all November elections. She has since learned that School Department officials will only keep students home in even-numbered years for presidential and gubernatorial elections – meaning that for all other elections, students will be present in the building.
The restrooms closest to the gym, where voting is held, are locker rooms where students store personal belongings, and school officials prefer not to have them open, Cote said. She noted that state law does not require restrooms at voting places.
Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy and Councilor Ayn Hanselmann voiced support for portable toilets as an option; Mayor Becky Brink said she would discuss the possibilities with Superintendent of Schools Matt Nelson at their regular meeting on Sept. 11.
The post Council Won’t Rest Until Voters Have Restrooms appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
