PORTLAND (AP) -- The polls have closed and the ballots are being counted for a full slate of referendums including gay marriage that Mainers voted on Tuesday.

Polling places closed at 8 p.m., and Maine's top election official said voter turnout will be higher than he originally projected because of "intense interest" in the referendums.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap originally projected that 35 percent of voting age residents would turn out at polling places. Dunlap now says it appears that the turnout is outpacing those projections.

While gay marriage is the top item, residents also voted on tax-related referendums and proposals calling for the repeal of the state's school district consolidation law and an expansion of the medical marijuana law.