• Read more about Annual reports for business and nonprofit entities are due June 2

All business, nonprofit entities on file must submit annual report  

AUGUSTA, MAINE – Annual reports are due Monday, June 2, 2025, for all business and nonprofit entities on file with the Secretary of State's office as of December 31, 2024. 

• Read more about Secretary of State issues final wording on referendum question

AUGUSTA, MAINE – Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced the final wording of a referendum question on Friday. 

The wording of the citizens’ initiative question"An Act to Protect Maine Communities by Enacting the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act" will be:

“Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?”

• Read more about Maine students show all that life in Maine can be with entries for Secretary of State poster and essay contests

208 entries received from across the state, age groups

AUGUSTA, MAINE – There were more than 208 entries in the Secretary of State Poster and Essay Contests this year. Submissions were received from K-12 students from across Maine. 

• Read more about Secretary of State issues final wording on referendum question

AUGUSTA, MAINE – Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced the final wording of a referendum question. 

The wording of the citizens’ initiative question entitled "An Act to Require an Individual to Present Photographic Identification for the Purpose of Voting" will be:

• Read more about Maine legislators and the Secretary of State make formal request to TSA, DHS to phase in Real ID implementation

Maine leaders are requesting that TSA Issue warnings

AUGUSTA, Maine – The Secretary of State and members of the Maine legislature today announced that they have sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formally requesting a phased-in approach to the implementation of the Real ID Act.

• Read more about Pine Tree license plates to begin replacing retiring Chickadee plates tomorrow

Mainers will gradually receive their plates as they register their vehicles 

AUGUSTA, Maine - Beginning tomorrow, Mainers will have the option to choose either a “Pine Tree” design as the standard license plate offering or “No Tree” – a classic plain plate with text and numbers in blue and green and no image. The new offerings will replace the retiring “Chickadee” license plates, a popular staple in Maine for the past 25 years. 

• Read more about Maine Secretary of State’s statement on court order to pause portion of election administration executive order

March 25 executive risks disenfranchising many Maine voters

AUGUSTA, Maine — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. paused a key section of a March 25 executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” which threatened to disenfranchise many eligible voters, including here in Maine. Today’s court order in League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al.

• Read more about Training Test Page

• The Department of the 
• Secretary of State touches 
• the lives of virtually every 
• Maine resident. 

• Read more about Records Management Records Officer Training Knowledge Check and Acknowledgement Form

Thank you for completing our Records Management training. It is important for every employee to have a basic understanding of records retention and acknowledge their responsibility for managing public records.

• Read more about Residents in Steuben and Beaver Cove Can Now Renew Motor Vehicle Registrations Online

350 Maine municipalities now offer Rapid Renewal

AUGUSTA, Maine — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows today announced that the towns of Steuben and Beaver Cove each launched Rapid Renewal this week. Rapid Renewal is the Department of the Secretary of State’s online service for renewing motor vehicle registrations.