Maine 2026 elections

Contests on the board in Maine

The general-election contests the Ledger tracks in Maine, each with the raters' current call, the newest public polling and the money reported.

Candidate profiles from Maine

ME-SEN · Maine

Susan Collins

Maine's senior senator, in office since 1997 and Senate Appropriations chair; Republican nominee for a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson on November 3.

Read Susan Collins's recordThe race

Key dates and deadlines

Read from the Maine Secretary of State on Sep 17, 2026. The authority's own page, linked beside each date, is the final word — confirm it before you act.

• Online voter registration deadline5 PM on October 13, 2026 (the 21st day before Election Day), through the Secretary of State's online voter registration service at maine.gov/vote. After the mail, online and motor-vehicle deadlines, registration must be done in person at the voter's municipality. maine.gov
• Registration by mail or delivered by a third person (received by)The completed voter registration card must be received by the voter's town or city by the close of business on October 13, 2026 (21 days before Election Day). This is a received-by deadline, not a postmark deadline, and it also applies to cards delivered by a third person. maine.gov
• In-person voter registrationClose of the polls on Election Day, November 3, 2026. In-person registration has no earlier cutoff: after the October 13, 2026 mail and online deadlines and the October 27, 2026 motor-vehicle deadline, registration must be done in person at the voter's municipality. maine.gov
• Election Day registrationYes. Maine has same-day voter registration: a person may register and vote on the same day, including Election Day, November 3, 2026. Election Day registration is done in person, and the voter must show ID and proof of where they live. A person in line at the voting place at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day may still register and vote. maine.gov
• Absentee ballots issued and mailedAbsentee voting in Maine begins October 5, 2026, and voters should start receiving their ballots in the mail in the first week of October, according to the Secretary of State. Municipal clerks issue requested ballots beginning 30 days prior to Election Day; the state's absentee ballot application says ballots will be provided to voters beginning in early October. For uniformed service and overseas (UOCAVA) voters, September 19, 2026 (45 days before Election Day) is the deadline to send ballots to already pending requests. maine.gov
• In-person absentee voting begins (Maine's way to vote early in person)October 4, 2026 (30 days before Election Day) is the date on the Secretary of State's key-dates list for the start of the in-person, no-excuse absentee voting period. A September 15, 2026 release from the same office says absentee voting in Maine begins October 5, 2026. In-person absentee voting takes place at the municipal clerk's office; contact the clerk for office hours. maine.gov
• In-person absentee voting endsThursday, October 29, 2026, at the close of business in the voter's town: Maine's no-excuse absentee voting period, including in-person absentee voting at town and city halls, extends through that day. After it, absentee voting in the presence of the clerk is allowed only if special circumstances exist. maine.gov
• Absentee ballot request deadline (received by)The request must be received by the municipal clerk by the close of business on Thursday, October 29, 2026, unless special circumstances exist. Requests may be made online, by telephone or in writing. For voters who use the mail, the Secretary of State's absentee guide passes along a U.S. Postal Service advisory to request the ballot no later than 15 days prior to Election Day. maine.gov
• Absentee ballot return deadline (received by)Voted absentee ballots must be received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on November 3, 2026. The Secretary of State says only ballots received by 8 p.m. on Election Day are counted, regardless of postmark. For voters who use the mail, the state's absentee guide passes along a U.S. Postal Service advisory to return the ballot no later than 7 days prior to Election Day; outside that window it encourages dropping the ballot off in person or in an absentee ballot drop box at the municipal office, if available. maine.gov
• Election DayNovember 3, 2026 — General Election. maine.gov
• Poll hoursOn Election Day, November 3, 2026, voting places open between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., depending on the population of the town, and all voting places close at 8:00 p.m. A person in line at the voting place at 8:00 p.m. may still register and vote. Opening times differ by municipality; the Secretary of State's voter guide says local officials can give the exact opening time for a community. maine.gov
• Registration through the Bureau of Motor VehiclesOctober 27, 2026 (the 7th day before Election Day): automatic voter registration during Bureau of Motor Vehicles transactions is available through that date. maine.gov

Official voting tools

These links go to the state's own tools. The Ledger does not collect registrations or ballots.

Rules to know

• What to bring

  A voter who is already registered in Maine does not need to show ID to get a ballot, according to the Secretary of State's voter rights page. Identification matters at registration: a person registering for the first time must provide proof of residency and identity, and a person who registers on Election Day must do so in person and show ID and proof of where they live. The state's voter guide lists these as acceptable proof of identification for registering: a government document or credential with photo ID (driver's license, State ID, valid U.S. passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe); a government ID document or credential without photo (certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card); an official document that shows the voter's name and address (eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck); a student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine; or a verified unique identifier (Maine driver's license number or the last four numbers of the Social Security number). Read from: maine.gov

• Voting by mail (absentee ballot)

  Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot; no reason is needed. A voter may request their own ballot through the Secretary of State's online absentee ballot request service, by telephone to the municipal clerk or with a written absentee ballot application; the absentee guide adds that a voter can obtain a ballot for an immediate family member “in this same way.” Requests for the November 3, 2026 election opened on August 3, 2026 and must be received by the municipal clerk by the close of business on Thursday, October 29, 2026, unless special circumstances exist. The voted ballot must be received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on November 3, 2026, regardless of postmark; it may be returned by mail, in person or, in many towns and cities, in a secured drop box. A ballot obtained and hand-delivered by a designated third person must be witnessed by a notary public, a municipal clerk, a clerk of courts or 2 other witnesses. Since December 31, 2025, any voter other than a uniformed service or overseas voter may apply for ongoing absentee voter status and automatically receive an absentee ballot for each election. Read from: maine.gov

• Voting early in person (in-person absentee voting)

  Maine's way to vote in person before Election Day is in-person absentee voting at the municipal clerk's office; the Secretary of State describes this as a different process from early voting at designated voting places. Absentee ballots are available at the clerk's office 30 days before the election, and a voter who votes there does not need to complete an application. The Secretary of State's key-dates list runs the in-person, no-excuse absentee voting period from October 4, 2026 through the close of business in the voter's town on Thursday, October 29, 2026; after that Thursday, absentee voting in the presence of the clerk is allowed only if special circumstances exist. Addresses and phone numbers for every municipal clerk are in the Secretary of State's clerk directory. Read from: maine.gov

• Track your absentee ballot

  Maine voters can track an absentee ballot online through the Secretary of State's Online Absentee Ballot Request & Tracking Service. According to the state's absentee guide, the tracking system shows the date the absentee ballot application was accepted by the municipal clerk, the date the clerk issued (mailed out) the ballot and the date the clerk received the voted ballot. Read from: maine.gov

• Accessible voting and help with the ballot

  For in-person voting on Election Day, the Secretary of State provides the Accessible Voting System (AVS) at every polling place in Maine, and a voter has the right to use it. The system is the ExpressVote, a ballot-marking device that allows individuals with disabilities to vote with privacy and independence. A voter who needs help reading or marking the ballot may ask a relative, a friend or an election official, but not the voter's employer or union official. Voters with print disabilities can request an electronic accessible absentee ballot by choosing the “Accessible Ballot” button on the online absentee ballot request page and filling out the online application. Read from: maine.gov

• Voting rights and incarceration

  The Secretary of State's voting residence fact sheet says a person who is incarcerated in a correctional facility or in a county jail is entitled to register to vote in the Maine municipality where the person previously established residency (a fixed and principal home to which the person intends to return) before incarceration. The Secretary of State pages read for this guide do not describe any loss of voting rights, or any restoration process, tied to a felony conviction. Read from: maine.gov

On the statewide ballot

Offices on the November 3, 2026 statewide ballot, per the Maine Secretary of State:

U.S. Senate · Governor

Questions and answers