On Tuesday, Mainers will decide on two referendums asking them to pass a voter ID law and a gun control proposal while settling many local issues including the solvency of a county budget.
This is everything you need to know to be ready to vote and track the results.
When are polls open?
Polls are generally open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Many open earlier, while smaller towns are allowed to open them as late as 10 a.m. You can look up opening times on the secretary of state’s website. If polls close while you’re still in line, you’re still able to vote.
Where is my polling place?
Polling places are typically in municipal offices, schools or other public buildings. But they can be in other buildings. You can call your municipal office or use the state’s online tool to find your polling place.
Can I register to vote at the polls?
Yes. Maine is among the roughly half of states that allow same-day registration. Bring identification and proof of residency to your polling place to register and vote. You do not need identification to vote, only to register.
You can check your voter registration status by entering your name, date of birth and current address on Vote.org, a third-party website.
Is it too late to drop off my absentee ballot?
No. All ballots will be counted as long as they are returned to your city or town clerk by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
If you recently mailed in your ballot, check the state’s lookup tool to ensure your local clerk has received it. If not, you can vote in person and your absentee ballot will be voided.
How do I find out about what’s on the ballot?
You can start with the Bangor Daily News’ guide to the referendum questions.
Question 1 would put Maine among 36 states that either require or request voters show a form of identification while voting while restricting absentee voting in several ways that have framed the campaign. If it passes, two days of voting by that method would be eliminated as would phone applications, those on behalf of family members. Older Mainers and those with disabilities would no longer be able to automatically get absentee ballots for each election.
Question 2 would enshrine a red flag law similar to those in 21 states and the District of Columbia. That would allow family members to directly petition courts to take away weapons from loved ones whom they believe pose a danger to themselves or others.
Right now, Maine’s “yellow flag” law is unique among states by requiring law enforcement to take a dangerous person into protective custody. They must get a mental health evaluation before facing a judge who can temporarily take away their weapons. Essentially, the referendum would allow a more direct line to seizures.
There are also big local races on the ballot. Washington County will decide whether or not to borrow $11 million to dig out of years of budget mismanagement, with county officials warning that not passing the plan would lead to risk of defaulting on short-term loans.
Bangor has a crowded and eventful city council race with nine candidates running for three open seats. Portland will vote on raising the minimum wage to $19 per hour by 2028.
What does the latest polling say?
The University of New Hampshire conducted the only public poll of the referendums last month, finding both of them essentially deadlocked. Only 3% of voters were undecided on Question 1, while a whopping 22% were undecided. That latter figure has to have changed since then.
That poll gave Republicans on the yes side of Question 1 and the no side of Question 2 some relief. But absentee ballot requests have been skewed heavily toward Democrats, whose voters filed 50% of the requests to Republicans’ 21%. Parties rarely do well when going into Election Day facing large deficits like that.
How are Maine’s results tallied on election night?
In Maine, media outlets like the BDN collect results from cities and towns and project outcomes. All results reported on Tuesday night will be unofficial. Media outlets obtain these unofficial results directly from cities and towns, which have two days to send final results to the secretary of state’s office for certification. Only then are the results official.
The BDN and the Associated Press are the only media outlets in Maine that gather statewide results from clerks independently. Because of that, our results will often look different than those of other Maine outlets as we put cities and towns into our systems at different times. The BDN reports races down to the local level across the state, and we are tracking hundreds of elections.
The AP and other organizations — including the BDN’s partner, Decision Desk HQ — use those results to typically project a winner before the unofficial count is complete. These outlets employ statisticians who consider a range of factors before making a final projection when they are nearly certain that a result will not change. BDN editors sign off before they are made public.
When will results come in?
We will start listing results after the polls close at 8 p.m. Keep an eye on our election results page.
