This is part of the Brennan Center’s Toolkits for Activists Across the Nation.
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Political Context | What’s in Place and What’s Needed | Key Dates
Administering an election under pandemic conditions requires undertaking steps to keep voting accessible, safe, and secure. The guide below lays out the problems Covid-19 poses, what preparedness measures Maine has, and what changes are still needed. But first, we offer some political context for your advocacy.
Advocacy Focus: Local Reform
Local officials have a lot of responsibility over elections. They are a great place to focus advocacy efforts. Though state officials can make any of the changes in this toolkit, we highlight some examples of changes that local elections officials can also make with this symbol:🔸
Political Context
Below is a list of the relevant officials and information about the legislative session.
Governor: Janet Mills (D)
Secretary of State: Matthew Dunlap (D)
Legislature: House (D) Senate (D)
Legislative Session: The legislature last adjourned on March 17, 2020. Either the legislature or the governor can call a special legislative session.
Local Elections Officials: In Maine, a number of local officials share responsibilities for administering elections. You can look up individual local officials here.
What Maine Has and What’s Needed
Three priorities. There are three key areas where we need to shore up our elections systems for success during a pandemic: registration, mail voting, and in-person voting.
Registration
Covid-19 may disrupt the traditional ways Americans register to vote, like get out the vote drives or registering at government agencies. In the crucial weeks before the registration deadline, postal service disruptions may lead many registration forms to arrive at election offices after the deadline.
Preparatory Measures Maine Already Has Taken:
- Election Day voter registration
- Extended mail voter registration deadlines based on conditions in the state
Changes Still Needed:
- Online voter registration
Voting by Mail
Because of Covid-19, long lines and crowds at the polls pose health risks not seen in previous elections. Allowing every citizen to vote by mail reduces the number of people at the polls on Election Day and decreases the exposure risk to Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Maine Already Has Taken:
- All voters can vote by mail without an excuse
- Online tool for requesting an absentee ballot
- No notary or witness requirement for return of mail ballot
- No ID requirement to vote by mail
Changes Still Needed:
- Provide pre-paid postage for voting by mail
- Accept late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day
- Provide post-election notice and cure opportunity for defects on absentee-ballot envelope, including signature mismatch or missing signatures
- Send absentee-ballot applications to all voters who have not yet applied
In-Person Voting
Even with expanded mail voting opportunity, states cannot close polling places. To do so may disenfranchise voters without Internet and mail access, or those who do not wish to cast a ballot by mail. In-person voting must be done in accordance with health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Maine Already Has Taken:
- In-person early voting
Changes Still Needed:
- Ensure sufficient polling places are open and resourced on Election Day🔸
- Offer additional dates and additional hours for in-person early voting at municipal clerks’ offices🔸
- Take proper public health precautions to ensure safe polling places🔸
- Hold training sessions for polling-place workers well in advance of Election Day, so that election officials can better anticipate problems with staffing and logistics🔸
- Increase access to curbside voting at polling locations
Advocacy Focus: Protecting Polling Places
No matter how prepared Maine is as a matter of policy, elections officials and advocates must stay vigilant about ensuring safe, healthy in-person voting is an option for everyone all the way through Election Day. Here are some important things to know about who makes decisions about polling places in Maine and what rules govern the process:
- Municipal officers can change the location of a polling place in an emergency.🔸
- Polls can open up to 4 hours late in towns with less than 500 residents. Polls can close before 8PM on election day in towns with less than 100 residents after all registered voters have voted.🔸
- The Secretary of State may work to facilitate voting in areas where the governor has declared a state of emergency. This could include providing for a centralized system for issuing and receiving absentee ballots and/or expanding procedures already in place for uniformed service and overseas voters to domestic civilians.
Key Dates for Maine Elections
- June 22, 2020: Deadline to register by mail to vote in the Primary Election (postmarked by this date)
- July 14, 2020: Primary Election Day
- October 19, 2020: Deadline to register by mail to vote in the General Election
- October 29, 2020 (5:00 p.m.): Deadline to request an absentee ballot for the General Election using the online ballot-request tool
- November 3, 2020: General Election Day