Appendix C

Municipal Survey on Early Voting
February 1, 2007

Municipality Name:

Name/Title of Person Responding:

The Secretary of State is conducting a study of early voting, along with municipal clerks from several municipalities, and staff from the Office of the Attorney General and the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee.  We are looking for your feedback on issues surrounding early voting and absentee voting.

1.	Do you have any problems or issues dealing with absentee voting (such as security for the ballots, limited staff, limited office hours, processing during Election Day, etc.)?

2.	Do you have any ideas or concerns about early voting (casting ballots before the election, directly into the ballot box or optical scan machine)?

3.	The Study Group is reviewing other states procedures and laws, and will be considering the following items.  If you have any comments about any of these items, or have any other items you think we should consider, please respond.

What - Definition of “early voting”
When - Time frame
Where – Location where early voting would take place
Who - Election management personnel
How:
•	Will it replace in-person absentee voting, or be a supplement to absentee voting
•	Two-tiered system (optional or mandatory?)
•	Security; dealing with full ballot boxes
•	Challenge process and poll watching
•	Financial impact
•	Management of process
•	Petitioners and opponents; electioneering/campaigning
•	Privacy and confidentiality
•	“Transparency”
•	Public education
•	Affect on local elections and local ballot creation
•	Adequate space, availability, accessibility, advertising location

Please provide your responses to Julie Flynn by email Julie.Flynn@maine.gov by February 8, 2007.  If you can’t meet that deadline, please forward your response as quickly as possible.