"Obama takes caucuses by storm" - Portland Press Herald (Maine)

snip< Sen. Barack Obama won Maine's Democratic caucuses Sunday as massive numbers of voters braved inclement weather.

The Illinois Democrat beat Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., by a margin of 59 percent to 40 percent with 95 percent of precincts reporting, giving Obama 15 of Maine's 24 pledged delegates who will be bound to vote for him at the party's national convention.

More than 46,000 voters, including 4,000 who cast absentee ballots, participated in the caucuses, easily breaking the record of 17,000 from 2004.

"We exceeded that in a way none of us could have foreseen," said Arden Manning, executive director of Maine's Democratic Party. "Democrats really want something different, and they want something new. That's why they attended in such high numbers.">snip


snip< Neilan said turnout at the 2004 caucus was around 2,400. About 4,000 attended Sunday's caucus. Asked why party officials were unprepared for the surge, given the larger-than-usual turnout in many other states, she said the party trained about 30 registrars for the caucus -- more than double the number used in 2004.

While they expected more voters than usual Sunday, the massive turnout was a surprise, Neilan said.

"This is the Obama tsunami, and we're getting hit by it," she said.

Once inside, voters navigated a maze of lines to check in for the event. Some complained about the 60- to 90-minute wait; others saw it as evidence of a landmark election year. >snip

Rest of article:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=168717&ac=PHnws&pg=1