Voting in Maine 2025 Guide

• Early in person voting begins October 6th! The deadline for absentee voting in the presence of a municipal clerk is 5 p.m. on October 30th.

• Voting in person on Election Day: Polls open between 6 and 10 a.m., depending on the location, and close at 8 p.m. Find your polling place using the state’s Voter Information Lookup Service. 

• There is no cut-off date for registering to vote in person at a town office or city hall, which means you can register in person on Nov. 4.

• If you plan to complete your voter registration by mail or through a voter registration drive, the cut-off date is Oct. 14 for the Nov. 4 general election.

• Mainers are able to request absentee ballots until 5 p.m. on the third business day prior to the election, which this year is Thursday, Oct. 30.
  Voters who are planning to use the U.S. mail to receive their absentee ballot should make the request no later than 15 days prior to Election Day and in order to be counted, absentee ballots must be received by a municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on Nov. 4.

• Maine has an absentee ballot tracking system that shows voters the date their application was accepted by their municipal clerk, the date their clerk mailed out their absentee ballot and the date the clerk received the ballot. Click here to check the status of your absentee ballot.

There are two questions that will appear on all ballots statewide in 2025:

Question 1: Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections?

Q2: 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?

More info, testimony, and summaries of both questions can be found here.

Michael Dwyer/AP Photo

You can register:

• Online: Use the state’s Online Voter Registration Service portal. You must provide a Maine driver's license or state ID number or the last four digits of your Social Security number. 
• By mail: Download and complete a voter registration application and mail it to your municipal clerk’s office, or contact your municipal clerk to request an application by mail. 
• In person: Pick up an application at your municipal clerk’s office, city hall, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch office or at a voter registration drive. At some locations, including many state and federal social service agencies, you may register onsite. Otherwise, return the completed application by mail or in person to your municipal clerk.

You must provide proof of residence and an approved form of identification, such as a driver’s license, state ID, valid U.S. passport, military ID, ID issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe, certified birth certificate or a signed Social Security card.

To check your registration status, contact your local municipal election official.

• Online: Use the state’s Absentee Ballot Request portal to complete an application.

• By mail: Print an application from the state’s Absentee Ballot Request portal and mail it to your local municipal clerk’s office. Or call your clerk’s office and ask that an application be mailed to you. State officials recommend requesting your ballot at least 15 days prior to Election Day.

• In person: Visit your local municipal clerk’s office to vote an absentee ballot in person without needing to complete an absentee application.

Election officials must receive completed ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

• By mail: Send your completed ballot to your local municipal clerk’s office. State officials recommend mailing your ballot at least seven days prior to Election Day.

• In person: Deliver your completed ballot to your local municipal clerk’s office, or deposit it in your local absentee drop box if your municipality has one.

Use the state’s Absentee Ballot Request portal to track the status of your absentee ballot.

Polls open between 6 and 10 a.m., depending on the location, and close at 8 p.m. Find your polling place using the state’s Voter Information Lookup Service.

You don’t need to provide an ID if you’re registered to vote.

If you’re registering to vote at the polls on Election Day and you don’t have an approved ID, such as a driver’s license or state ID, you’ll be allowed to cast a “challenged ballot.” This will be counted as a regular ballot, but if a race is close enough that challenged ballots affect the outcome, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court will decide whether challenged ballots are valid.

Any registered voter can designate someone to request and receive an absentee ballot on their behalf by completing a written absentee ballot application and having the assistant sign the application.

If assistance is needed to complete an absentee ballot, a voter may receive help, as long as the person providing assistance is not an employer or union official.

To request an accessible electronic ballot, voters can use the state’s Absentee Ballot Request portal. The accessible electronic ballot can be completed at home using screen-reader technology and is intended for voters with disabilities that make it difficult to fill out a ballot, such as vision impairment or learning disabilities. Accessible electronic ballots are received and returned by email. Find more information on the secretary of state’s website.

When voting in person, each polling place is equipped with an Accessible Voting System (AVS) for voters with disabilities. Voters who need assistance filling in their ballot can receive help from either an election official or a person of their choice, as long as that person is not an employer or union official.