In-person absentee voting starts statewide Monday amid a surge in new voter registrations that suggests high enthusiasm around the November election.

All towns and cities are required to start offering in-person absentee voting Monday, and municipalities will also be sending absentee ballots that voters have requested to receive by mail. Some communities may have already started making ballots available if they were ready, but Monday is the deadline for them to start.

“If you are a Maine citizen and you are excited about voting, we are now in the 30-day period that allows people to go down to their town office and cast their ballot,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

Hours for in-person voting vary by municipality. In Portland, in-person voting will be held in the State of Maine Room at City Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The city began mailing absentee ballots to those who requested them on Friday.

The last day to in-person absentee vote or request an absentee ballot across the state is Oct. 31 – the Thursday before the Nov. 5 election – though exceptions may be made in special circumstances, such as an unexpected hospitalization. The Portland city clerk’s office will be open until 7 p.m. on the last day of no-excuse absentee voting for registrations and voting.

Absentee ballots can be requested online, by mail or by calling your town or city clerk or visiting their office. Voters can also track the status of their absentee ballot using a new online tracking system from the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.

‘A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENTHUSIASM’

As of Friday, 106,816 absentee ballots have been requested in Maine and 5,145 returned. Voters have been able to request absentee ballots since mid-August, and uniformed and overseas voters have already received them since federal law requires those ballots to be sent 45 days before the election.

Maine has about 955,285 active registered voters, according to data from the secretary of state’s office. More than 520,000 absentee ballots were issued in the last presidential election in 2020, though 2020 was an unusual year that saw an unprecedented number of people utilize absentee voting due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s hard to compare 2024 to 2020 just because we know that during the pandemic, many people were voting absentee,” Bellows said. “But what I do think we’re seeing is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm with the level of absentee ballot requests already.”

Some voters say they plan to vote absentee this year or have in the past because of the convenience.

“It’s just a lot easier,” said William Mill, 42, of Portland. Mill said he has voted absentee for several years and plans to do so this year as well. “It just gives you a little more time to think about it,” Mill said. “Then you pop it in the mail and you’re done.”

Jered Egan, 64, is not voting absentee this year because he lives close to his polling place, but he has voted both absentee, in-person and by mail in the past, especially when his work schedule had him traveling a lot.

“I think it’s fantastic that it’s available,” said Egan, who lives in Portland and formerly lived in New York. “I’ve been very happy with it in the past when I’ve used it both in New York state and here in Maine. I felt like for me it worked really well.”

NEW REGISTRATIONS CONTINUE

The state has seen a surge in online voter registrations in recent weeks, and more than 10,000 new voter registrations were filed in September, a spokesperson for the secretary of state said Friday.

Maine hasn’t had online voter registration in previous years, so there isn’t past data on online registrations to compare to this year.

Bellows said the new system may be driving some of the new registrations because it has increased accessibility and convenience. She said the surge in registrations in September was a good sign.

“Traditionally, Maine has led the nation in voter participation,” Bellows said. “It looks like we are gearing up to have high levels of voter participation again in 2024 and that’s very exciting.”

Total new registrations, including those done on voter registration cards at municipal offices or paper voter registration applications from the secretary of state were at 22,860 through August this year.

In comparison, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, 2016, the state saw 19,892 new registrations overall, and from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, 2020, there were 31,818, according to the secretary of state’s office.

ONLINE REGISTRATION CLOSES OCT. 15

Maine has same-day voter registration, so there is no cutoff on registering in-person at town offices or polling places. Online voter registration is available through Oct. 15, and any mailed-in voter registrations must be received by Oct. 15, according to the secretary of state’s office.

All absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day. In Portland, ballot drop boxes will be set up at City Hall near the Myrtle Street entrance and outside the public works building at 212 Canco Road and will be available to receive ballots 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ballots should be returned via mail to City Hall or placed in the drop boxes and should not be returned at polling places, the city said in a news release Friday.

In addition to the presidential election, voters in Maine this year will be weighing in on five referendums, including three bond questions, races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, state legislative races, and local referendums.

Portland voters will cast ballots in three city council and three school board races. There also are city referendums that would amend the list of information required to register short-term rental units and amend the city’s hazard pay policy to take effect only when the city, and not the state, declares a state of emergency.