Maine Voting Information (2024)

Absentee Ballot Process

Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required.You can return your absentee ballot request form through the mail, in person at your local elections office, or online. Voted ballots must be received by 8pm on Election Day to be counted. You can sign up to track your absentee ballot on your Secretary of State's website.Absentee ballots begin being counted on Election Day.The last day to request an absentee ballot without an approved excuse is five days before the election (Thursday of the week before). After this deadline, voters may request an absentee ballot by completing and signing a Special Circ*mstances Application. The voter must indicate which of the four allowable reasons to request an absentee ballot after the deadline applies to them:

1. Unexpected absence from the municipality during the entire time the polls are open on Election Day; or

2. Physical Disability; or

3. Incapacity or illness that has resulted in the voter being unable to leave home or a treatment facility; or

4. Inability to travel to the polls if the voter is a coastal island ward or precinct resident.

Those who requested an absentee ballot but end up voting in person: Do not mail a ballot and vote in person Absentee ballots are processed in batches throughout the day and the list of those newly received absentee ballots is shared with each polling place for each batch, so if the absentee voter tries to vote in person, they will not be able to do so. (And conversely, if they vote in person before their ballot arrives that day, their absentee ballot will be rejected).

You do not need to have a specific reason or be unable to vote at the polls on Election Day to receive an absentee ballot.

You can request an absentee ballot online here beginning 3 months before Election Day. If you don't want to request a ballot online, you can contact your municipal clerk either in person on through the phone. A ballot will then be mailed to your address.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 days before the election.

To be counted, voted absentee ballots must be received by the municipal clerk by 8pm on Election Day.

Map: Absentee Ballot Dropbox Locations

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Request your Ballot

Campaign Finance Information

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Candidate and Ballot Measure Information

Local election information is collected by League volunteers and may not be complete. If you don't see your local ballot, you may still have an election - please contact your town clerk

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

Drop Boxes

Early Voting

Election Dates

The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/maine.

Contact your local Board of Elections for more information.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote you must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident in the municipality where you intend to register to vote
• At least 18 years old to vote (17 year olds may vote in primary elections as long as they will be 18 by the time of the general election).

College Students

If you are a student, you have the right to register in the municipality where you attend school, if you have established residency there. You must meet the same residency requirements as all other potential voters, but may not be asked to meet any additional requirements. If you are a student not a resident of the municipality in which you attend school, you cannot register in that municipality.

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens:

In Maine, those with criminal records never lose the right to vote. If you are incarcerated, regardless of the offense, you can vote.

Suppose you are a Maine resident serving a sentence in a correctional facility or county jail. In that case, you have the right to register to vote in the Maine municipality where you had previously established residency (a permanent and main home to which you intended to return) before your incarceration.

Voters without traditional residence:

Individuals in Maine experiencing homelessness or residing in a shelter have the right to register to vote in the municipality where they currently live, regardless of having a non-traditional address like a park bench or other physical location. Instead of providing standard residency documents, they can submit a sworn physical description of their residence to the municipal clerk.Voters experiencing homelessness are not obligated to provide a mailing address for voter registration.

ID Needed for Voter Registration

When filling out your voter registration card, you must provide either your states driver's license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

If you are a new voter in Maine, you must send a copy of either your Maine driver's license or a utility bill or a government document that states your name and address with your voter registration form.

If you are registering less than 21 days before an election, you must register in person at your town office or city hall, through any motor vehicle branch office, in most state & federal social service agencies, or at voter registration drives. You will need to provide proof of identity and residency.

ID Needed for Voting

If you are already registered to vote, you do not need to provide identification to receive a ballot. If you are registering on Election Day, you will need to provide proof of identity and residency.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official Results

Official results are never available on Election Day.Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

Absentee ballots and challenged ballots begin being counted on Election Day.

Official election results will be uploaded on Maine’s Secretary of Statewebsiteas they become available.

Official Results

Overseas and Military Voters

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Poll Worker Information

You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!

In order to be a poll worker in Maine, you must:

• Be registered to vote in Maine
• Be at least 18 years of age; except students 17 or older may work at the polls as student election clerks for specific elections
• Attend training at least once every two years
• Might be entitled to compensation, depending on the jurisdiction

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Polling Place Hours

All polls open between 6am and 10am until 8pm.

You can find your polling place by utilizing your stateresource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your Municipal Clerk

Polling Place Locator

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your Municipal Clerk

Primary Election Process

Maine has a hybrid primary system. If you are registered to with a particular party, you must vote in that parties primary. However, if you are unaffiliated with any political party, you can choose which party’s primary you wish to vote in.

Maine uses a ranked choice voting system for Presidential Primaries, State Primaries and General Elections. To find out more about ranked choice voting click here.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

If you are visually impaired, physically disabled, or are unable to read or write, you can be assisted. Accessible voting systems help voters who may have difficulty voting to cast their ballots over the phone. Please ask for more details about this process at your polling location.

Language Access

Ballots are only available in English. If you or someone you know needs the help of an interpreter to vote, contact the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition. You have the right to bring someone with you when you vote, unless they are your employer or union boss.Voting information is also available from the League of Women Voters of Maine in a variety of languages.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Ranked Choice Voting

Maine allows voters to vote using Ranked Choice Voting for all state-level primary elections, and in general elections ONLY for federal offices, including the office of U.S. President.Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank the candidates in the order of their preference.

How does Ranked Choice Voting work?

• Voters rank candidates in the order of their preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
• When all the ballots are counted, if one candidate gets more than 50% of the first choice votes, they win.
• If no candidate receives more than 50% of first choice votes, the candidate with fewest votes is considered defeated.
• Voters who ranked the defeated candidate as their first choice have their votes counted for their second choice.
• This is repeated until only two candidates remain. The one with the most votes wins.

Registration Deadline

You are able to register in person up until and on Election Day. When registering in person you must show proof of identity and residency.

You may also submit a paper registration formby mail or by third person as long as it is received by your town clerk 15 days before Election Day.Click here for instructions on how to complete the Maine Voter Registration Application.

Time Off To Vote

Verify Voter Registration

To verify your voter registration status, contact your

election official.

Voting Machines

The voting systems used in Maine are optical scan and paper ballots.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few places on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.