From prisoners to ranked-choice voting, Maine has a broad scope of voting rights

Shawn P. Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald
·4 min read
The Judson Dunaway Community Center in Ogunquit, Maine, was open for voting on Election Day in 2018.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This page is part of a comprehensive guide to voting rights across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.

When it comes to voting rights, Maine is “relatively progressive."

The Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights made this assertion in a report it filed in 2018. Indeed, a look at voters' rights in Maine reflects how much has changed since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

For example, Maine allows prisoners to vote, something most U.S. states do not.

“If you are incarcerated in a correctional facility or in a county jail, you are entitled to register to vote in the Maine municipality where you previously established residency - a fixed and principal home to which you intend to return - prior to incarceration,” the Maine Department of the Secretary of State says on the state’s website.

Maine moves to ranked-choice voting

As well, Maine was one of the earlier states to approve ranked-choice voting. Voters approved this run-off method in 2016, and it got its first test during the state primary in 2018.

The Maine Office of the Secretary of State describes ranked-choice voting as a system in which voters “choose their candidates in order of preference, by marking candidates as their first, second, third, and subsequent choices.” The votes are tabulated through rounds that eliminate lowest-ranked candidates until there are only two candidates left. Of those two, the one determined to have received more than 50% of the votes is declared the winner.

Previously, the state’s method was to have voters choose only one candidate, with the winner determined by plurality.

A prisoner’s right to vote and the adoption of ranked-choice voting are two examples of changes made in Maine in the years since Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act more than half a century ago.

According to the National Archives, Johnson signed the act on Aug. 6, 1965, thus outlawing the discriminatory voting practices that many Southern states adopted after the Civil War. Making an individual take a literacy test as a prerequisite for voting is an example of such practices that the Voting Rights Act outlawed.

In order to vote in Maine, you need to be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of the municipality where you want to cast your ballots. You can register to vote at age 17 if you will be 18 come Election Day.

As of June 10, there are 1,114,582 registered voters in Maine, according to the Office of the Secretary of State. Democrats comprise the majority, with 395,893 voters. From there, 358,909 voters are unenrolled, 313,866 are Republicans, 45,249 are Green Independents, and 665 are Libertarians.

How to register

You can register to vote by filling out a voter registration card at your town office or city hall, through any Motor Vehicle branch office, in most state and federal social service agencies, or at voter registration drives.

Mainers can register to vote on Election Day itself and then proceed to cast their ballots. They even can register if they find themselves still standing in line to vote at 8 p.m. – the time at which polls close in the state. Individuals must register in person and provide identification and proof of address.

Voters also have the right to see a sample ballot beforehand, to ask election officials for assistance, and to get a new ballot if they make a mistake on their first one. They also have the right not to be harassed by others or pressured to vote a certain way while at the polls.

As well, Maine voters have the right to use the state’s Accessible Voting System, which is a non-paper approach intended to help individuals with such disabilities as visual impairment or blindness, limited physical dexterity, and learning or cognitive challenges.

The state provides contact information for voters who encounter problems or are prevented from exercising their right to vote. In such instances, voters are encouraged to call the state’s Elections Division at 1-888-868-3763 or The Disability Rights Center at 1-800-452-1948.

The Secretary of State’s office is located at 111 Sewall Street in Augusta. The Disability Rights Center of Maine is also located in Augusta, at 24 Stone St.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine ballot access: State has a broad scope of voting rights