A Most Happy Fella’ Sitting in the Sunshine in Front of “North Optical” on Washington Avenue, During the East Bayside Halloween Fest, Saturday, October 29, 2022.

The Maine Secretary of State announced this afternoon that absentee ballot requests for the upcoming 2022 general election have surpassed the TOTAL number of requests from the 2018 general election.  With three more full days of no-excuse absentee voting to go, 211,350 absentee ballot requests have been submitted, compared to 196,710 in the general election of 2018.

“No excuse absentee voting is a great option for many people, whether they’re busy and need the flexibility it provides, whether they prefer the privacy of voting at home, or whether they’re enthusiastic and want to cast their vote as soon as possible,” said Secretary of State Bellows. “We are proud that whatever their reason, Mainers are getting out to vote and making sure their voices are heard through their ballots.”

Of the 211,359 voters who have requested ballots, 107,664 are Democrats, 6,202 are Green Independents, 140 are Libertarians, 47,646 are Republicans and 49,707 are  unenrolled in a party.  So far, 144,578 ballots have been returned and accepted by municipal clerks.

From now through Election Day, the Elections Division will post up-to-date absentee voter data after 3:00 pm daily at:  https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/index.html.

In many towns and cities, voters will have the option of returning an absentee ballot to a secured drop box.  This year, 45 more municipalities have added this convenience for their voters.  Ballots must be retrieved periodically and in teams of two.