Voting in Maine
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The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.
This article includes the following information about voting policies in Maine:
- Voter registration details, including deadlines and eligibility requirements.
- In-person voting details, including identification requirements, poll times, and early voting provisions.
- Absentee/mail-in voting deadlines and rules.
- Details about voting rules for people convicted of a felony.
- Contact information for election agencies.
Click here for more information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, post-election auditing practices, and additional election policy context.
For information on elections happening this year, click here.
Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.
Voter registration
The table below displays voter registration information specific to Maine's 2025 election cycle.
Eligibility and registration details
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in Maine, one must be "a United States citizen, at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote, and have established a fixed principal home in Maine. To vote in a Referendum or General Election, you must be registered in the community where you reside, and be at least 18 years of age. A 17 year old may vote in a Primary Election, if that person will be 18 by the General Election."[1]
Voters can return completed registration cards in person or by mail to their town office or city hall, to any Motor Vehicle branch office, to most state & federal social service agencies, or at a voter registration drive. There is no deadline for voter registration if completed in person. If registering by mail or online, the deadline is 21 days prior to the election.[1] If registering through a qualified state agency, the deadlines is seven days prior to the election.[1]
When registering for the first time in Maine, voters must provide documents verifying their identity and residence. The following documents are acceptable identification for the purpose of registering to vote:
- Government ID with a photo (i.e. driver’s license, State ID, valid U.S. Passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe)
- Government ID without photo (i.e. certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card)
- Other official document showing the name and address of voter (i.e. eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck)
- Student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine
- Maine driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number[1]
In-person voting
The table below displays in-person voting information specific to Maine's 2025 election cycle.
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In Maine, municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[2]
Voter identification
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Maine does not require voters to present identification while voting. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, they must provide identification and proof of residence.[3][1]
The federal Help America Vote Act requires that individuals who register to vote by mail and who have not voted previously in a federal election in their state must provide either their driver's license or a paycheck, bank statement, current utility bill, or government document showing their name and address. Individuals voting by mail must include a copy of one of those documents with their absentee/mail-in ballot.[4]
These requirements do not apply if an individual submitted a copy of their identification, their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote.
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
Maine permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website. In most instances, Maine refers to early voting as in-person absentee voting. In-person absentee voting is available at clerk's offices no later than the 30th day before an election and ends the Thursday before the election.[5]
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.
Absentee/mail-in voting
- See also: Absentee/mail-in voting
The table below displays absentee/mail-in voting information specific to Maine's 2025 election cycle.
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Maine. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.[5]
Voters may submit an application for a mailed absentee ballot beginning three months before a general election and two months before a primary. An application must be received by the third business day before the election. An absentee ballot received by mail must then be returned to election officials by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.[5]
Local election officials
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
Voting rules for people convicted of a felony
In Maine, people convicted of a felony who are incarcerated retain their right to vote. These individuals may register to vote while in the municipality they established residency in prior to their incarceration.[6]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[7]
Election administration agencies
Contact information
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Maine can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Maine Municipal Clerks and Registrars
Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
- 101 State House Station
- Augusta, Maine 04333-0101
- Phone: 207-624-7736
- Fax: 207-287-5428
- Email: cec.elections@maine.gov
- Website: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/index.html
Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices
- Physical Address: 45 Memorial Circle, 2nd Floor
- Augusta, Maine 04330
- Mailing Address: 135 State House Station
- Augusta, Maine 04333
- Phone: 207-287-4179
- Fax: 207-287-6775
- Email: ethics@maine.gov
- Website: https://www.maine.gov/ethics/
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
- Washington, DC 20001
- Phone: 301-563-3919
- Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
- Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
- Website: https://www.eac.gov
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Ballotpedia's election coverage
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- State legislative Republican primaries, 2026
See also
- State of Election Administration Legislation Reports
- Voter ID in Maine
- Election administration in Maine
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Maine
Elections in Maine
- Maine elections, 2025
- Maine elections, 2024
- Maine elections, 2023
- Maine elections, 2022
- Maine elections, 2021
- Maine elections, 2020
- Maine elections, 2019
- Maine elections, 2018
- Maine elections, 2017
- Maine elections, 2016
- Maine elections, 2015
- Maine elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Maine Department of the Secretary of State, "State of Maine Voter Guide," accessed October 2, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "meguide" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Maine Revised Statutes, "Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A § 626," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ Maine Secretary of State, "Your Right to Vote in Maine," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ Congress, "H.R.3295 - Help America Vote Act of 2002," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Maine Department of the Secretary of State, "Absentee Guide," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ Maine Department of the Secretary of State, "Voter information," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
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