The Maine secretary of state has certified the 2022 election results and is estimating that turnout was roughly 75%, a figure that could put the state among the nation's leaders.
Maine's ranking won't be known until all states have certified their results, but current data suggests registered voters here cast ballots at an extremely high rate.
Seventy-five percent of the more than 900,000 voters who were registered as of late October cast ballots this year, and the figure could climb when election officials add in data from people who registered to vote shortly before or on Election Day.
Turnout was driven by legislative races, two congressional contests and a high-profile gubernatorial election that was expected to be close, but ultimately wasn't.
According to official results, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills defeated Republican Gov. Paul LePage by more than 13 percentage points — or 90,000 votes.
Bellows says this was also the first year the state offered automatic voter registration at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
"Additionally, we conducted a first-ever match of the BMV driver license and ID database, to the voter file, to identify Maine citizens who were not registered to vote, and sending them information about how to register to vote," she says.
Bellows says turnout numbers could change as local towns report voters who registered on or near Election Day.
