Maine Opens In-Person Absentee Voting for June 9 Primary

Overview

• Maine’s no-excuse absentee system, which lets voters cast ballots in person at town offices, opened Monday and runs through June 4.
• Key deadlines are approaching: mail and online registration close May 19, BMV automatic registration ends June 2, absentee requests are due June 4, and in-person registration is allowed on June 9, with completed mail ballots due by 8 p.m. that day.
• Ballots cover primaries for U.S. Senate, governor, both U.S. House seats, the Legislature, and county and local offices, including 31 contested legislative races with a notable Downeast Senate matchup between Billy Bob Faulkingham and Bucket Davis.
• The Democratic U.S. Senate primary features Graham Platner, 2024 nominee David Costello, and Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign last month without formally exiting.
• Officials point to sustained absentee use, with more than 100,000 absentee ballots cast in every November since 2020, including 136,000 last fall and 380,000 in November 2024.