AUGUSTA — With Sunday, May 10 marking 30 days until the Primary Election on June 9 and absentee voting getting underway statewide on Monday, May 11, the Office of the Secretary of State provides an update about Maine’s election processes for this stage of the election cycle. 

Key Dates to Know: 

• Registering in person: Close of the polls on Election Day.
• Registering by mail or 3rd person: Received by the voter's town or city by close of business 21 days before Election Day. (For June 2026 Primary: May 19, 2026)
• Registering online: 5 PM on the 21st day before Election Day. (For June 2026 Primary: May 19, 2026)
• Registration through Automatic Voter Registration at the BMV: Midnight on the 7th day before Election Day. (For June 2026 Primary: June 2, 2026)
• UOCAVA voters in Title 21-A section 777-A by mail or electronically: By Noon the day before Election Day (For June 2026 Primary: June 8, 2026)
• Deadline to request absentee ballots from a municipal clerk: Request must be received by the voter’s town or city three business days before Election Day (For June 2026 Primary: by close of business in a voter’s town on Thursday, June 4) unless special circumstances exist.
• In-person absentee voting: For June 2026 Primary begins Monday, May 11, until close of business on Thursday, June 4, subject to office hours by town. 

Voter registration 

To register to vote in Maine, voters must be Maine residents and U.S. citizens. Mainers may preregister to vote beginning at age 16, but only those who will be 18 years old or older on or before the date of the November 3, 2026, General Election may vote in the Primary 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. 

Mainers who are unsure if they are registered to vote should contact their municipal clerk’s office. Contact information for municipal clerks and registrars is available at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/munic.html. Registered voters who need to update their registration, such as with a new address or party enrollment, may do so online at maine.gov/vote. 

Absentee voting 

State law requires that absentee ballots be available 30 days before an election for in-person absentee voting. Any Maine voter may choose to vote absentee, whether in person at their town or city hall, or at home. 

Requesting an absentee ballot: Absentee ballots, including accessible ballots and ballots for uniformed and overseas voters, may be requested online at https://absenteeballotrequest.sos.maine.gov. Voters may also contact their town hall to request a ballot or submit a paper application for an absentee ballot. Some third-party groups and campaigns send out a 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. 

Tracking an absentee ballot: Once a ballot request is submitted, Maine voters can track the process of that request and their ballot at: https://absenteeballotrequest.sos.maine.gov/BallotTracker/BallotTracker. Voters who need a replacement ballot should contact their municipal clerk. 

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

Uniformed and overseas voters: Federal law requires that ballots be sent at least 45 days prior to Election Day to Uniformed service and overseas (UOCAVA) voters. 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 ensures that ballots can be received and returned regardless of where they are currently residing. 

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. 

Absentee ballot data: The Elections Division will post up-to-date absentee voter data at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/index.html on Tuesdays and Fridays starting May 12. Beginning June 1, the data will be posted each weekday afternoon.

Processing of absentee 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 – 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 will be updated 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. 

Ongoing absentee ballot status requests: Any voter (other than a uniformed service or overseas voter) 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. Voters must submit the completed form to their municipal clerk. Application forms are available on the Secretary of State’s website. 

Voters with disabilities 

An accessible ballot may be requested at https://absenteeballotrequest.sos.maine.gov. 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, 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 and political parties 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. 

Ranked Choice Voting 

Maine uses the Ranked Choice Voting Election Method (RCV) for some races, including many in the upcoming primary. Ranked-choice voting, sometimes called "instant run-off voting," allows voters to choose their candidates in order of preference, by marking candidates as their first, second, third, and subsequent choices. The votes are tabulated in rounds, with the lowest-ranked candidates eliminated in each round until there are only two candidates left. The candidate who is determined to have received the majority of the votes (more than 50%) in the final round is declared the winner. Resources about Ranked Choice Voting can be found in the Office of the Secretary of State’s website: https://www.maine.gov/sos/elections-voting/resources-for-ranked-choice-voting. 

Photography or filming in/near 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; photographs and video of ballots are not allowed. The exception to this is ballot selfies which are allowed. 

Media interviews in/near polling places 

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.