Early voting for the upcoming June 9 primary election is set to begin on Monday, May 11, 2026.
On the ballot this cycle are several critical races, including for the governorship, as well as for one of Maine’s seats in the United States Congress and both of the state’s seats in the United States House of Representatives.
Both Democrats and Republicans will be asked to weigh in on primary races for the gubernatorial election and the senatorial election, but only Republicans will be faced a choice at the ballot box for the House seat.
Maine citizens who are not yet registered to vote may do so until the close of polls on election day.
Mail-in registrations must be received, however, by May 19, 21 days in advance of the election.
Automatic Voter Registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles ends for this election on June 2 at midnight, seven days ahead of the primary election.
Requests for an absentee ballot must be received by a voter’s municipality by the close of business on Thursday, June 4.
In-person absentee voting began Monday and will be available to voters through Thursday, June 4.
Anyone who is unsure of their voter registration status may contact their local municipal clerk’s office to check.
Contact information for all Maine municipal clerks and registrars is available here. A statewide online lookup tool is not currently available.
To register, prospective voters must be United States citizens, residents of Maine, and over the age of 16. That said, only Mainers who will be at least 18 on November 3, 2026 are eligible to participate in the upcoming primary election.
First time registrants must show both proof of residency and identity. Government documents such as a driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, or signed Social Security card are all valid ways of doing so.
Mainers may also choose to provide official documentation showing their name and address. For example, prospective voters may bring proof of their eligibility for public benefits, a utility bill, a bank statement, or a paycheck.
Photo IDs from state-approved public or private schools or institutes of higher education are also considered acceptable.
Some may also opt to provide their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number.
Current or former incarceration status does not disqualify Mainers from registering to vote or casting their ballot.
Once Mainers are registered to vote, they may either wait until election day to cast their ballots or take advantage of one of these absentee or early voting options.
The June 9 primary election will make use of ranked choice voting, meaning that voters will have the option to express support on their ballot for multiple candidates.
In the event that one candidate does not receive at least 50 percent of the votes cast, the candidate with the least amount of votes will be knocked out of the running. Votes will then be distributed to whichever candidates were marked as a second choice on ballots cast by those supporting the eliminated candidate.
This process continues until one candidate emerges with majority support.
When filling out a ranked choice ballot, voters may rank multiple candidates, vote only for a first choice selection, or fill out all ranking slots in favor of one candidate.
Click Here for More Information on the Upcoming Primary Election
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