All the wishing may be working.

School district and town officials have repeatedly urged for a strong turnout in budget votes at the polls Tuesday, Sept. 10. And so far in Wiscasset and Alna, absentee voting is looking up.

That's an indicator the overall turnout could be better this time around, Wiscasset Town Clerk Christine Wolfe and Alna Town Clerk Amy Warner said September 3.

Voters throughout Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit are considering a slimmer budget offer than the one they rejected June 28. Wiscasset also has several ballot items up for second tries on town budget items that lost June 11.

As of Tuesday morning, 243 absentee ballots had gone out of the town clerk's office in Wiscasset, Wolfe said.

“Wow, that's amazing,” the school district's superintendent Howard Tuttle said about the figure. If those all make it back to be counted, the absentee ballots alone will surpass Wiscasset's total voter turnout for the June school budget vote, absentee and at the polls combined.

Normally in Wiscasset, about 95 percent of absentee ballots taken out come back, Wolfe said.

In September 2012, when some Wiscasset budget items also had revotes, but no revote was needed on the school budget, about 220 votes were cast, 74 of them absentee.

About 17 absentee ballots had gone out in Alna and all already been returned as of midday Tuesday, Warner said. About 20 Alna voters took part in the first school budget vote in June.

Westport Island had so far had four requests for absentee ballots. Two of those were going out in the mail; the other two had already come back, Westport Island Town Clerk Gaye Wagner said.

Don't let that town's early numbers fool you, however. Westport Island is known for its good turnouts at the polls on election day, Wagner said. More people voted on the school budget in Westport Island than in any of the district's other towns in June.

Thursday, Sept. 5, is the last day to pick up an absentee ballot, except for a special circumstance. They must be turned in by the close of polls next Tuesday.

Polls will be open Tuesday at the Wiscasset Community Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; at the Alna Town Office, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and in Westport Island at the Town Hall, from 12 p.m. (noon) until 8 p.m.

The proposed school budget is down $445,000 from the failed offer. The total tab to the district's towns would be 4.56 percent higher than last year. The proposal that lost in June would have hiked the tab by 7.7 percent.

Wiscasset selectmen have made few changes to the town budget items that failed in June. The budget committee has continued to oppose the planning and assessing department's budgets, but supports the revised transfer station budget after opposing the June offer.

The budget panel supports proposed repairs to roads, sidewalks and the municipal building roof; and proposed buys of a pickup truck for the fire department and an extractor to clean turnout gear. It is opposing a public works truck, a generator for the municipal building and $28,500 in wastewater pump repairs after selectmen upped that figure from $13,500.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com