LEWISTON — Linda Scott and Dean Sherwood, the warden and ward clerk at the Longley School polling location on Tuesday, have plenty of local elections under their belts.

For Scott specifically, the Longley School location, which serves wards 4, 5 and 7, accounting for about 42% of all voters, is well-known. Any time she works the polls — when she’s not running for office — she’s usually posted there, and several of the regular volunteers are routinely kept together.

On Tuesday afternoon, as a large number of voters were entering the gymnasium, Sherwood said he goes “wherever I’m needed” on Election Day, but that election volunteers are typically placed in the same polling location from year to year due to the camaraderie and working relationships that keep elections running smoothly.

The pair arrived around 5:45 a.m. and would likely be there until 9:30 p.m.

Due to its centralized location and a number of other factors, the Longley School has become a hub for voting in Lewiston, used as its sole polling location for some elections when polls are consolidated.

There have been seven elections at the Longley School in the current 12-month cycle in Lewiston, which City Clerk Kathy Montejo said is very unusual. The average is two or three, which means coordinating election workers has been a constant focus for Montejo over the last year.

She said her office is “always recruiting people” and always trying to get the word out. The city hires and trains about 150 Lewiston residents for most elections. There’s an average turnover rate of between 10%-15%, she said.

The huge number of elections is mostly due to the three school budget validation votes that had to be scheduled. Add to that last year’s mayoral race and runoff election and now the presidential election.

Election worker Marla Pettinelli keeps Ivar Mwamba entertained Tuesday afternoon as his mother registered to vote at Longley School in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The Longley School is home to the Lewiston school district’s Next STEP program for high school students, but no classes took place Tuesday due to the election. Montejo said Longley, and the nearby Montello, doesn’t hold classes in-person on Election Day due to the election, and concerns surrounding crowds and/or potential demonstrators.

Montejo said Longley, also formerly known as the multi-purpose center, became the location for consolidated elections when it was used as the city’s community center. A public nurse worked out of the school, and senior citizen programs operated there. She said the amount of space there, along with the large parking lot for The Colisée across the street, are also factors.

In the 25 years that Montejo has been in Lewiston, the mayoral runoff election has always been held at Longley, as well as the annual (or more) school budget referendum.

Scott, also a former city councilor, said when the doors first opened at 7 a.m., there was a line at the door, but that things moved smoothly. She joked that she’s either on the ballot or helping voters cast a ballot.

Down the hall, Michel Lajoie, running for Maine House District 96 against Lee Clement, was also at Longley early Tuesday talking to voters. He stood in the hallway, holding a cane, stopping voters to say hello, especially when doors opened at 7 a.m.

By 3 p.m. Lajoie was still there. He said he was in it for the long haul until 8 p.m.

By that time, a steady stream of voters were coming in as local school’s let out. Sherwood said it had been steady all day, with a few “peaks” but that it was picking up again. Across the street, kids played basketball outside at Tree Street Youth, music blaring, which added to a bustling atmosphere.

Petitioners for ranked-choice voting, Voter ID laws and other causes were posted up all day.

Montejo said she makes the rounds all day to the city’s three other polling locations (Lewiston Armory, Montello School and Green Ladle) but that Longley usually gets the majority of her attention due to having three wards.

“I say I’m like the Tasmanian devil on Election Day,” she said. “But since 42% of all voters vote here, I tend to spend most of my time here.”

She said between 4-6 p.m. has historically been one of the busiest times for turnout, but that the pandemic and remote work has changed voter habits. She surveyed the voting booths at one point and noticed the continuing flow of voters through the voting booths.

“People are pretty quick in the booths too,” she said, which could signal voters have been closely following the issues on this year’s ballot.