FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 7, 2024

AUGUSTA — With 29 days until General Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Deputy Secretary of State for Corporations, Elections and Commissions Julie Flynn want to provide an update to the public about Maine’s election processes for this stage of the election cycle. Further in-depth explainers will be provided throughout the election season.

“Absentee voting is getting underway all around the state,” said Secretary Bellows. “In Maine, you can vote absentee – whether at your town office, at home or school, or elsewhere – for any reason at all. Our no-excuse absentee voting period of at least 30 days before Election Day is a big part of both keeping our elections accessible to all voters and why we so often lead the country in voter turnout.”

“State and local election workers, J.S. McCarthy Packaging and Print, USPS, UPS and detectives in the Department’s Division of Enforcement Services coordinated to get ballots out to municipalities as quickly and efficiently as possible. They all did an excellent job,” said Deputy Secretary Flynn. “All absentee ballots left the printer’s shop by last Tuesday afternoon and got delivered to municipalities by Friday.”

The Elections Division utilized USPS and UPS to deliver most ballots, with detectives from the Division of Enforcement Services, part of the Department of the Secretary of State, hand-delivering ballots to some more remote municipalities to ensure timely delivery.

Absentee voting

In-person absentee voting begins in towns and cities around the state by Monday, Oct. 7. State law requires that absentee ballots be available at least 30 days before an election, but if a municipality receives ballots before that deadline, clerks may mail ballots earlier and make them available at town and city halls for in-person absentee voting.

Maine’s no-excuse absentee voting law means that any Maine voter may choose to vote absentee, whether in person at their town or city hall, or at home. No-excuse absentee voting continues through the Thursday before an election; this year that is Thursday, Oct. 31. Hours for in-person absentee voting at a town or city hall are set by each municipality. Many offer extended hours, particularly in the last days of no excuse absentee voting, but state law does not require this. Municipal office hours are listed at maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html. After Oct. 31, when certain special circumstances exist, for example, an unexpected hospitalization, a voter may still vote absentee.

Absentee ballots, including accessible ballots and ballots for uniformed and overseas voters, may be requested via the state’s online portal. Voters may also call their town or city hall to request a ballot, go in person to their town or city hall, or submit a paper application for an absentee ballot. Some third-party groups and campaigns send out the paper application to voters, and this is legal. Voters, however, need only submit one application for an absentee ballot, duplicates will be noted but not fulfilled.

Once a ballot request is submitted, Maine voters can track the process of that request and their ballot at: apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/ballot_status.pl. Voters who need a replacement ballot should contact their municipal clerk.

In many towns and cities, voters will have the option of returning an absentee ballot to a secured drop box. Absentee ballot drop boxes must be monitored periodically, secured to the ground or building, and the interior only accessible by the town or city clerk and their staff. Ballots must be retrieved periodically by the municipal clerk (or a deputy or assistant clerk) or in teams of two.

The Elections Division will post up-to-date absentee voter data on Tuesdays and Fridays starting Tuesday, Sept. 24, and then Starting Oct. 28 the data will be posted each weekday afternoon at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/index.html.

Upon receipt of an absentee ballot, a municipal clerk will examine the signature of the voter on the absentee ballot envelope and on any affidavit and witness certification on the envelope and may compare it to the signature on their voter registration file. If the ballot requires curing – the required information is not present or the signatures appear not to match – the clerk shall contact the voter within a day, or on the day before or the day of the election, make a good faith effort to contact the voter. The outcome of the clerk’s inspection of the envelope is noted in the tracker, and a voter can see if their ballot has been accepted or rejected. If a voter’s ballot is rejected, they would be able to cast a different ballot by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Uniformed and overseas voters

Uniformed and overseas voters (UOCAVA voters) began receiving ballots on Sept. 19, 2024 as federal law requires that these ballots be sent at least 45 days prior to Election Day, which this year was Saturday, September 21. UOCAVA voters include spouses and dependents away from their Maine voting residence by reason of active duty or service of the member, and U.S. citizens currently living outside the U.S. and whose residence before leaving the U.S. was in Maine. The longer period for UOCAVA voters to receive their ballots is to ensure that they are able to cast their ballot as other Mainers can, regardless of how accessible where they are living is.

UOCAVA voters may continue to request ballots through 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time on the day before Election Day. All ballots must be returned to the state’s Elections Division by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. More information about UOCAVA voting is available at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter-info/uocava.html.

Voter registration

To register to vote in Maine, voters must be Maine residents, U.S. citizens, and at least 16 years old, though only Mainers who will be 18 years old on or before November 5, 2024 may vote in the General Election. When registering for the first time, voters must provide proof of residency and identity. Current or former incarceration status does not disqualify any Mainer from registering to vote or casting their ballot. Incarcerated persons at a correctional facility or county jail may register to vote in the Maine municipality where they established residency prior to incarceration.

Maine has same day voter registration, meaning that Mainers may register to vote and cast their ballot on the same day, even Election Day. Online voter registration at maine.gov/vote is available through Tuesday, Oct. 15 (21 days before Election Day). Registrations done by mail need to be received by the municipal clerk of the voter by that date as well. Automatic voter registration during Bureau of Motor Vehicle transactions is available through Tuesday, Oct. 29 (7 days before Election Day). After those deadlines, registrations must be done in person at the voter’s municipality.

Maine has seen a surge in online voter registration usage in recent weeks (see chart below). These registration numbers include new registrations, duplicate registrations from Mainers who perhaps are not sure if they are currently registered and want to be certain, and updated registrations with a change of name, address or party enrollment. There were more than 10,000 new voter registrations in September.

Mainers who are not sure if they are registered to vote, or if their voter registration is up-to-date should contact their municipal clerk’s office to check. Contact information for municipal clerks and registrars is available at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/munic.html. Maine does not currently have an online registration lookup tool.

Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election

The Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election, a non-partisan resource that can help them make informed decisions at the polls, is available online at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html. Copies of the guide are also printed and distributed to municipal offices and public libraries throughout the state.

The guide, prepared by the Department of the Secretary of State in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Maine State Treasurer and Office of Fiscal and Program Review, is an unbiased and non-partisan review of the issues that voters will consider at the polls this November. It provides detailed information about each referendum question on the November ballot. Voters can see the legislation behind this year’s ballot issues, as well as analysis of the intent and content of each question. Election law also allows for citizen advocacy statements to be published supporting or opposing questions, though none were submitted on any of this year’s referendum questions.

Who is on the ballot

Mainers can see their sample ballots at https://www.maine.gov/portal/government/edemocracy/voter_lookup.php. Mainers’ polling location, voting districts, election officials, and their elected officials are also available at that link.  The full list of candidates that will be on Mainers’ ballots is available at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html. There are also a list of declared write-in candidates available on the Upcoming Elections page.

In accordance with Maine’s ballot preparation laws, candidates are organized alphabetically by last name for each race. Ranked-choice races are on one side of the candidate ballot, and plurality races are on the other.

Should any candidates withdraw, the Department would notify municipal clerks, and notice would be sent with absentee ballots, posted at voting sites, and posted on the Secretary’s website.

Ranked-choice voting

Federal races with at least three candidates (including two named candidates on the ballot and a declared write-in) will be conducted as ranked-choice races. Those are the races for President, U.S. Senate, and both U.S. House races. Races for county and state offices are conducted as plurality races. The referendum questions are all yes or no questions.

Should no candidate in a ranked-choice race receive first-round rankings on more than 50% of ballots cast, a ranked-choice tabulation will be conducted in Augusta in the days following Election Day. This office will announce any needed RCV tabulations, in the days following Election Day. Only first choices will be reported by the municipalities on Election Night.

Ongoing absentee voting

Voters who will be at least 65 years of age by the next election or who self-identify as having a disability may apply for ongoing absentee voter status. A voter who qualifies will automatically receive an absentee ballot for each statewide election, municipal election and any other election for which the voter is eligible to vote and need not submit a request for each election. Application forms are available on the Secretary of State’s website.

Voters with disabilities

For voters with print disabilities, an accessible ballot is available to request at apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/ballot_begin.pl. Voters must self-certify that they are blind or otherwise disabled, and that their disability prevents or substantially limits them from being able to privately and independently complete a paper absentee ballot. This option is available to ensure that all voters are able to cast their vote while maintaining their right to a secret ballot.

For in-person voting, voters with disabilities (or anyone who chooses to use it) each polling place has an accessible voting system available for use.
  
Absentee ballot processing

Absentee ballots may be processed up to seven days before Election Day, with notice provided to the Secretary of State 30 days before Election Day. A list of municipalities which may process ballots early will be available at maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html at least one week prior to the start of early processing. Absentee ballot processing is a public process which may be observed by partisan and nonpartisan observers.

Early processing may happen between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., except when an inspection is requested. At such times, processing may not begin until the inspection period has concluded. Requests for inspection of absentee ballot applications and envelopes must be submitted in writing by 4 p.m. the day before each day of early processing. If such a request is made, the ballot applications and envelopes will be available an hour before early processing is set to begin.

During absentee ballot processing, teams of two work in stages. First, the absentee voter list is marked, then the ballots and envelopes separated, and only when a sufficient quantity of ballots has amassed, are the ballots unfolded and placed into the tabulator or ballot box. Ballots and envelopes are kept secure after each day of early processing. Absentee ballots are not counted until after 8 p.m. on Election Day, just as all other ballots.

Many municipalities will conduct absentee ballot processing on Election Day itself, under the same procedures.

Photography and filming near and in polling places

Photography and videography are allowed in and near polling places as long as the person recording remains outside the guardrail and isn’t conducing video recording closer than 15 feet from a voter, including when a voter is where a person is collecting signatures. Voted ballots are not public records and voters have the right to a secret ballot, so photographs and video of ballots are not allowed. The exception to this is ballot selfies, which are allowed.

When conducting interviews inside polling places, or on public property within 250 feet of the entrance to the polling place, journalists should be careful not to ask interviewees questions where the answer may violate restrictions on political activities in those areas. Within those areas, instruction on how to vote (other than to provide assistance to a voter who is unable to read or mark their ballot themselves) and influence regarding who or what to vote for are not allowed. The Warden may have someone removed from the polling place for violating this section.

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