Primary Election one week away

6/02/2026

Secretary of State’s Office provides update on Maine election processes

AUGUSTA, MAINE – With one week until the Primary Election on June 9 and absentee voting continuing statewide through Thursday, the Office of the Secretary of State today provided 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.
Registration through Automatic Voter Registration at the BMV: Midnight on the 7th day before Election Day (June 2, 2026).
UOCAVA voters (in Title 21-A section 777-A) registering to vote by mail or electronically: By Noon the day before Election Day (June 8, 2026).
Deadline to request absentee ballots from a municipal clerk: Request must be received by the voter’s town or city by close of business three business days before Election Day (June 4, 2026) unless special circumstances exist.
In-person absentee voting: Began Monday, May 11 and will continue until close of business on Thursday, June 4, subject to office hours by town.
Requesting an absentee ballot: Absentee ballots, including accessible ballots and ballots for uniformed and overseas voters, may be requested online. Voters may also contact their town hall to request a ballot or submit a paper application for an absentee ballot, and the request must be received at least three business days before Election Day (by close of business in a voter’s town on June 4), unless special circumstances exist.
Returning an absentee ballot: Only ballots received by 8 p.m. on Election Day are counted, regardless of postmark. In many towns and cities, voters have the option of returning an absentee ballot to a secured drop box. Maine voters can track the process of their ballot online.

Semi-Open Primary

Maine law allows Unenrolled registered voters – those who have chosen not to enroll in a party – to select a party primary to vote in without enrolling in that party.

Unenrolled voters may only vote in one party’s primary.
Enrolled voters may only vote on the primary ballot of their party unless they changed enrollment at least 15 days prior to the primary. However, if a voter enrolled in a new party, they may not change their party enrollment again for three months unless they move to a new municipality and establish a new voting residence there.
Note: It is recommended that the term “Independent” not be used when referencing registered voters who did not enroll in a party as it causes confusion with voters enrolled in the Green Independent Party. Voters who did not select a party are officially listed as “Unenrolled.”

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 online 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 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 will use Ranked Choice Voting Election (RCV) for many races in the upcoming primary. Ranked-choice voting, sometimes called "instant run-off voting," allows voters to choose their candidate(s) in order of preference, by marking candidates as their first, second, third, and/or subsequent choices. Voters may rank as many or as few candidates as they choose. 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, including:

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 from the municipalities are expected shortly after then and throughout the night. In Ranked Choice Voting races, municipalities report the results of first-choice votes only. While absentee ballots may be processed ahead of time, they cannot be counted until polls close. There is no separate reporting for ballots voted on Election Day or by absentee.

After Election Day concludes, the municipal clerks in each town and city in Maine have two days to submit their unofficial election results to the Secretary of State’s Office, per Maine law. In Ranked Choice Voting races, to win the race outright, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the first-choice votes as counted on Election Day. If no candidate appears to have achieved this based on initial unofficial results reports from the municipalities, the Secretary of State’s Office will make the determination to proceed with the ranked-choice voting tabulation(s). Ranked Choice Voting tabulations are expected to be completed prior to the Juneteenth holiday. The Secretary of State’s Office may announce official results up to 20 days after an election.

Recounts

Maine statute Title 21-A, §737-A lays out a specific plan and process for votes to be recounted:

In non-Ranked Choice races, any candidate other than the apparent winner who desires a recount must file with the Secretary of State a written request for a recount within 5 business days after the election.
In Ranked Choice Voting races, only a candidate who received one of the top 3 rankings at the end of the penultimate round of ranked‑choice counting may request a recount.

Conduct in and around polling locations

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.

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 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; 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.

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