An early report from the field:
Democrats and independents have arrived in droves to caucus at Cape Elizabeth High School this afternoon, delaying the start of the proceedings by more than an hour.
The event is one of hundreds of its type today, as Democrats in Maine head to local caucuses a day after Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. swept contests in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington â closing in on front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. in the battle for the Democratic presidential nod.
Hundreds of people waited in the schoolâs cafeteria for the proceedings to begin. Some were forced to wait at least an hour to get into the building. The caucus had been scheduled to begin at 12:30, but proceedings were getting under way at 1:40 p.m.
TPM Reader CM checks in via iPhone:
I am at the Portland caucus now and things here are very chaotic. The line stretched around the block 30 minutes before the doors opened and now encircles the entire block. There are far more people trying to get in than the high school can hold. It will be interesting to see how they sort this out.
We’re still awaiting the first results. Sounds like the heavy turnout may delay them.
