We are writing in regard to an upcoming item for consideration of the Brunswick Town Council, whether to move the Election Day voting poll location to the Brunswick Recreation Center at Brunswick Landing. We strongly believe that moving Election Day voting to the recreation center will greatly benefit our community. This move will not reduce accessibility for anyone in town to vote and will in fact only increase accessibility for more people.

The same voters that wish to walk to vote to the polls can continue to do so — in-person voting is available at Town Hall for an entire month before election day, less than a mile from Brunswick Junior High School. However, hosting the polls at the recreation center on Election Day will greatly increase accessibility (and walkability) for many Brunswickians as housing continues to grow on Brunswick Landing.

This complicated issue has several reasons it has gained our support. First, we believe that removing voting from Brunswick Junior High School is in the best interest of our children and Brunswick schools. In February 2022, Council asked the Brunswick School Board for an opinion on the use of BHJS on Election Day. In concurrence with BSD Administration, the School Board asserted that for reasons of both student safety and privacy all future elections held on school property would necessitate the closure of school in favor of remote learning.

The use of unnecessary remote learning disproportionately affects low-income families, in which parents may not be able to afford extra care for their children. We worry about students who face food insecurity and may depend on school meals to receive proper nourishment. Despite the excellence of our teachers, as parents of school-age children, we are very aware of how disruptive remote learning days can be to established classroom practices and the overall quality of instruction, as noted by Superintendent Potenziano in recent newspaper articles.

In the same February meeting, the School Board formally requested that Council find an alternate location for future elections. This echoes years of requests by Town staff, who have repeatedly asked to move voting out of the schools, and into a more accessible and flexible location. We feel strongly that the town has a duty to respect the autonomy of the Board and the expertise of our employees.

Second, we feel strongly that moving voting to the recreation center makes great logistical sense. For years we have watched voters with mobility issues stumble, trip, and outright fall when using the temporary ramp in use at BJHS. We have all experienced the safety nightmare that Columbia Avenue becomes when thousands of vehicles are routed through a high-density residential neighborhood, particularly after dark on November evenings when the polls are open until 8 p.m. Conversely, the recreation center is ADA accessible, providing safe and appropriate access to all Brunswick citizens. The recreation center also provides ample, well lit parking designed for larger crowds and a constant flow of traffic, as proven during the highly successful vaccine clinic held by Midcoast Hospital at the Center last year.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we see this as a clear issue of voting equity, a responsibility we take very seriously. As some have noted, we have heard from residents who enjoy the opportunity to walk to the polls. While we applaud the eco-friendliness and communal spiritedness of this practice, we are also clear that is not a privilege afforded to all Brunswickians. If 50% of our residents live within a mile of BHJS, the other 50% do not, and this includes some of our town’s lowest income residents. Because BJHS is not accessible via public transportation, continuing to hold elections here directly disenfranchises some of our most vulnerable citizens, namely those who can neither walk nor drive. By moving polling to the recreation center, a location directly accessible via the ADA-compliant Brunswick Link, we ensure that those without walkability or driving access are ensured their civil right to vote. This is consistent with Council’s recent efforts to promote affordable workforce housing development on Brunswick Landing and better integrate this area into the fabric of the town.

As Brunswick town councilors, we are extremely proud of our town’s high level of civic engagement. We greatly appreciate the calls, emails, and letters we have received with regards to this issue. We hope that the statements above will provide a more balanced look at this critical debate, and an evidenced explanation of our strong support for moving the polls to the recreation center in 2023.