Maine

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballots is the close of polls (8pm) on Election Day, November 5, 2024. If there is a mismatching or missing signature, notice and instructions on how to cure will be provided within one business day using a phone number or email address provided on the absentee ballot application. You can check the status of your mail/absentee ballot using your state’s online tool. If you voted a provisional (challenged) ballot, it will be counted the same as a regular ballot and the validity need not be determined unless it affects the results of an election. 

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballots is the close of polls (8pm) on Election Day, November 5, 2024. If there is a mismatching or missing signature, notice and instructions on how to cure will be provided within one business day using a phone number or email address provided on the absentee ballot application. You can check the status of your mail/absentee ballot using your state’s online tool. If you voted a provisional (challenged) ballot, it will be counted the same as a regular ballot and the validity need not be determined unless it affects the results of an election. 

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

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

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.

Many, but not all, municipalities have a dropbox. Dropboxes are usually located outside the municipal office building. Dropbox locations will be posted by the Secretary of State.

As soon as absentee ballots are available, 30 days before the election, you may vote in person at your town office. Voting dates and hours vary by town; check with your town clerk or look up your town on the Secretary of State's website.

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

Contact your local Board of Elections for more information.

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.

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.

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 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.

For Presidential elections, local results will be certified no later than 2 business days after Election Day.

Official election results will be uploaded on Maine’s Secretary of State website, within 20 days after Election Day.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Starting in 2024, Maine is implementing Semi-Open Primaries. If you are registered with a particular political party, you can only vote in that party's primary. If you are not registered with any political party, you can choose to vote in any ONE party's primary of your preference. This rule applies to both Presidential and State Primaries.

Note: If you wish to change your political party affiliation, you must do so at least 15 days before the election. 

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)

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.

If your eligibility to vote is questioned on Election Day, you are allowed to cast a challenged ballot. A challenged ballot must be counted the same as a regular ballot. The validity of a challenged ballot need not be determined unless it affects the results of an election.

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.

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.

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.

Voters can register to vote online, by mail, or through a third party. The deadline for online and mail-in registration is 21 days before the election.

Time off to vote is subject to the employer, there is no requirement for employers to grant time off to vote for employees.

To verify your voter registration status, contact your

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.