Maine Secretary of State says state is seeing a record-high number of absentee ballots
By Keenan Mills
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WESTBROOK, Maine (WMTW) — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows traveled to Westbrook on Tuesday to recognize Election Hero Day as the midterms are now two weeks away.
Bellows also discussed a record number of absentee ballots requested and accepted in the state and what municipalities are doing to prepare for Nov. 3.
According to Bellows, as of Tuesday morning, more than 178,000 absentee ballots were requested, with more than 100,000 already returned and accepted.
Bellows stated that this exceeds the record set in 2022, which led the nation. That year saw 62% of the voting-age population take part in the election.
According to Westbrook City Clerk Ellis Ledoux, absentee ballots, when returned, are confirmed for the proper paperwork, that the signatures match, and that the voter has checked in.
“We also want to make sure that we batch those properly and make sure that all of the ballots went out are what we are receiving back in, so we double-check those names and numbers throughout the day,” commented Ledoux. “And then at the end of the day, once we’ve done that, we securely store them in our vault.”
According to Ledoux, the city has issued 3,500 ballots and seen 2,000 returns.
In Sabattus, 18.7% of voters requested an absentee ballot. That’s 10% more than the most recent gubernatorial election.
For the city of Lewiston, it’s seeing nearly 200 early voters a day.
Lewiston City Clerk Kathleen Montejo attributes the large number to contentious local elections and questions, including a question surrounding the needle exchange ordinance. She added that she’s heard from voters who just have had enough of election season.
“We are hearing from a lot of folks who are simply just saying, ‘I’m over this election already because of all the advertising, the mailers in the mail,'” answered Montejo. “Someone was just telling me today that they received five copies of the identical mailer at their house today.”
Montejo also mentioned the regularity of the city’s absentee program, which Lewiston voter and resident Gerry Hardy took advantage of Tuesday afternoon.
Hardy, who’s in a wheelchair, mentioned he’s spent the last ten years dropping off his ballot at city hall early.
“You have to wait until it’s a nice, sunny day before you can go out,” said Hardy. “A lot of times during the election, it’s raining. And I have no transportation other than the chair.”
He also said that he doesn’t trust the mailing system enough to not drop it off himself.
Bellows said that among concerns voters have, there are two that stand out. One is that mailed ballots won’t be delivered to City Hall on time. Bellows claimed she has been in constant communication with the U.S. Postal Service.
She also said she’s heard concern about an ICE presence at the polls. According to Bellows, an armed federal presence at the polls is prohibited.
“That may be a reason that we’re seeing a rise in the in-person voting in this early no-excuse absentee voting period,” said Bellows.
Maine voters can request an absentee ballot until Oct. 29. The ballots can be dropped off until the night of the election.
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