Maine election officials have seen a surge in new voter registrations this month as the fall campaign season heats up.
The Maine Secretary of State's Office released data this week showing that, on average, more than 1,000 people a week used the state's online voter registration portal for much of the summer. But since Labor Day, that's accelerated to more than 5,000 a week.
In fact, more than 2,400 people used the online portal on National Voter Registration Day earlier this month.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said on Wednesday that voter interest always spikes after Labor Day but that she was encouraged by the numbers she is seeing. Bellows said she visited several high schools and college campuses for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 17.
"What I encountered is that students are very excited about the online registration portal," Bellow said. "They are used to using their phones or their iPads or their computers for a variety of different functions. And the ease of using that system makes more sense than perhaps filling out a paper form."
Her office reported that 5,760 people used the registration portal during the week of Sept. 9 while another 5,479 people used it the week of Sept. 16. Around the country, election officials, nonprofit groups, political parties and campaigns promoted the national day on Sept. 17.
Online registration or registration by mail is available in Maine through Oct. 15. Maine also offers same-day registration, meaning voters can sign up at their polling place on Election Day.
Interest in the fall campaign also jumped following the first — and potentially only — debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Sept. 10. Elections officials around the country also reported a bump in registrations that week following pop megastar Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris.
The Maine Secretary of State's office does not track the age, party affiliation or other demographics of new registrants, although political campaigns can typically glean that information from the publicly available data.
And not all of those registrations are necessarily new voters. For instance, some have used the system to change their party affiliation or to update their address or name.
Absentee ballot requests have also started flooding into local and state election offices, which Bellows interprets as a good sign for voter participation in the fall elections.
"I think we are seeing a lot of enthusiasm for requesting a ballot just as we are for voter registration," Bellows said. "And that's exciting. Maine was No. 1 in 2022 in the nation in voter participation per capita and I'm really hopeful that we'll be No. 1 again in 2024."
Bellows' office has received more than 73,000 requests for absentee ballots as of earlier this week. That is considerably less than four years ago, when absentee voting was extremely popular because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it is ahead of the pace for absentee ballot requests in 2022.
Maine has no-excuse absentee voting, meaning voters can choose to cast their ballots early in-person at their polling place or can mail in ballots. Absentee ballot requests can be made online at the Secretary of State's website, by submitting a paper application or by contacting their local election clerk.
In-person absentee voting will begin in towns and cities around the state by October 7.
Maine Public's Your Vote coverage is made possible through the support of AARP Maine, MEMIC, and the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein.
