General Election Day 2024 – One week away

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

AUGUSTA — With one week 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.

“We are lucky to live in a state with accessible, safe and secure elections,” said Secretary Bellows. “In Maine we are proud that everyone who is a U.S. citizen, a Maine resident and at least 18 years old by Election Day has the right to vote without exception.”

“With a week to go to Election Day, we are in full swing with absentee voting and final preparations for next Tuesday,” said Deputy Secretary Flynn. “Many Maine voters have already cast their ballots, and local election administrators are poised and ready to ensure the remainder of Maine voters are able to cast their ballots by 8 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 5.”

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 close of business 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 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 each weekday afternoon at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/index.html for the remainder of the election. Through 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, more than 243,000 Mainers have already cast their ballots.

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 because the required information is not present or the signatures appear not to match, the clerk shall contact the voter within a day. On the day before or the day of the election, the clerk must 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 was available through Tuesday, Oct. 15 (21 days before Election Day). Registrations done by mail needed 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 today, Tuesday, Oct. 29 (7 days before Election Day). After those deadlines, registrations must be done in person at the voter’s municipality.

Maine saw 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 is 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 ranked-choice voting 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 (electronic) absentee 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 is available at maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html. 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 of one hour 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.

Prohibition on influence and advertising in and around voting places

So that voters can cast their ballots freely, Maine law prohibits influence and advertising in and around voting places both during the absentee voting period and on Election Day.

Certain political activities, including the display or distribution of any advertising material (including signs) intended to influence a voter's decision regarding a candidate or question on the ballot for that election are prohibited during the hours when the clerk's office is open and may be conducting absentee voting. This prohibition covers both the inside of the clerk’s office and all public property within 250 feet of the entrance to the building in which the clerk’s office is located. Additionally, blocking a voter’s access to an absentee ballot drop box at any time is prohibited.

On Election Day, on public property within 250 feet of the entrance to the voting place and within the voting place itself, no one may influence (or attempt to influence) another person’s decision regarding a candidate for an office or a question that is on the ballot for the election that day. Additionally, a person may not display advertising material; operate an advertising medium, including a sound amplification device; or display or distribute campaign literature, posters, palm cards, buttons, badges or stickers containing a candidate's name or otherwise intending to influence the opinion of any voter regarding a candidate for an office or question that is on the ballot for the election that day in that same zone.

These restrictions do not apply to advertising material on vehicles traveling to or from the voting place for the sole purposes of voting and a voter (who is in the voting place for voting) may wear a campaign button that is no bigger than three inches around.

Given the above restrictions, election workers, poll watchers, signature gatherers, and others in attendance at the polls for purposes other than voting may not wear apparel that names candidates or explicitly or implicitly expresses support of or opposition to a candidate or issue on the ballot that year.

Voters are also subject to these restrictions and an election administrator may ask a voter to remove a hat or cover up a t-shirt, for example. Anyone, including a voter, who is asked to remove apparel or other advertising or who is asked to exit a voting place by a Warden must do so, as the Warden is the presiding officer at the voting place.

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 conducting 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.

Vote reporting

Election Night results are reported by the municipalities themselves. Sometimes those are posted on a town’s website or social media page, or emailed to an interested parties list, but sometimes they are simply announced locally and physically posted in the town. Ballots must begin to be counted as soon as polls close on Election Night at 8 p.m. and unofficial results are expected shortly after then and throughout the night. Candidate races must be counted on Election Night, and while absentee ballots may be processed ahead of time, they cannot be counted until polls close. There is no separate reporting schedule for ballots voted on Election Day or by absentee.

This office will announce any needed ranked-choice voting tabulations in the days following Election Day. We expect to complete any tabulation, if needed, in the week or so following Election Day. The tabulation would be conducted in Augusta, open to the public, and would also be livestreamed.

Municipalities have two business days to report their certified results to the Elections Division. The Department has 20 days from Election Day to transmit the certified results to the Governor. Only after the certified results are submitted to the Governor will official results be posted to the Secretary’s website.

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