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Maine’s June 9 primary election is still a month away, but in-person early voting starts next week. That means eager voters can cast an absentee ballot in-person at their town office during prescribed times.
Next month’s primary election is the first time that Maine’s unenrolled voters — those who did not designate an official party in their voter registration — can vote in a party primary for governor. Under Maine’s semi-open primary law, passed by the state Legislature in 2021, these voters can choose to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. With so many candidates in both parties vying for the open governor’s seat, this is an opportune time for unenrolled voters, often called independents, to weigh in.
If you are currently registered as an unenrolled voter, you don’t have to join a party or change your registration to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary. When you give the clerk your name, say which party ballot you would like to receive. Then vote as you typically would.
Unenrolled voters can pick one party’s ballot. In other words, they can’t vote in the Republican primary for governor and the Democratic primary for Congress. They must pick one party’s ballot for all races.
Nearly a third of Maine’s registered voters are unenrolled, the second largest group of voters behind Democrats. Until 2024, these unenrolled voters could not participate in Maine’s party primary elections unless they formally enrolled in that political party.
Semi-open primaries give unenrolled voters the opportunity — and power — to participate in party primaries. With ranked-choice voting, those votes can be even more influential.
The race to succeed Gov. Janet Mills is especially crowded. Seven Republicans are on the primary ballot. They are: health care CEO Jonathan Bush, former State Department official Bobby Charles, real estate CEO David Jones, former state Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy, former fitness CEO Ben Midgley and former selectman Robert Wessels. Polling shows Charles with a lead, but the other candidates are clustered together and the only independent poll conducted in that race, from February, showed nearly a third of voters were undecided.
Independent polling also shows most of the five Democratic candidates close to one another and about a quarter of voters undecided. The five Democrats are Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former clean energy executive Angus King III, former director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future Hannah Pingree and former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah.
Currently, there are also five independent candidates for Maine governor — state Sen. Rick Bennett, State Rep. Ed Crockett, retired state employee John Glowa, small business owner Derek Levasseur and design engineer Alexander Murchison. Independent candidates will not appear on a June ballot, but will be on the ballot in November.
Graham Platner looks to be the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race. Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign for Senate last week. Her name, however, will appear on the June 9 ballot as they have already been printed. David Costello, a long-time government official, is also running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat.
There are four Democrats seeking the nomination in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, a race thrown open by Rep. Jared Golden’s unexpected announcement last fall that he would not seek re-election. The Democrats are state Sen. Joe Baldacci, State Auditor Matt Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud and former U.S. House of Representatives chief of staff Jordan Wood. The winner will face former Gov. Paul LePage, the Republican nominee.
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, sales consultant Joshua Pietrowicz and veteran and former defense contractor Ronald Russell are vying for the Republican nomination to run against Democrat Chellie Pingree in the fall.
Whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Green Independent or unenrolled, there’s time to learn about the many candidates and their platforms. The Bangor Daily News and other media outlets are hosting debates and publishing profiles and stories about the campaigns and candidates.
You can cast a ballot in person at your town office beginning next week. You can also request or pick up an absentee ballot. Or, you can vote in person on election day, June 9.
