Election Day is Nov. 5. You’ll be voting for president, both of Maine’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one of Maine’s U.S. senators. There are also five statewide ballot questions this year.
Plus you’ll be voting for lots of local positions.
Here’s what you need to know before you go to the polls:
How to vote
You can only vote in the town you live in — if you aren’t sure where you’re registered, you can check on the state’s website here. If you need to update your registration, you can do that at your town office, or at the polls during in-person voting.
You’ll need an ID and proof of residency in your town. If you don’t have an ID with an updated address, use a utility bill or lease agreement. Check with your specific town to make sure you have all of the correct materials.
Early voting runs Oct. 6-31. You can vote early in person at your town office or city hall, or you can request an absentee ballot and return it by mail or drop it off at the designated location.
If you’re unsure where your polling place is for Election Day, you can look it up here. It’s usually your local town office, school or other public building.
While you are prohibited from taking photos of the ballot or while in the voting booth, voters are encouraged to make informed choices and to look up information with a cellphone if needed.
Statewide ballot questions
This year, voters will weigh in on five ballot questions. Three of them are bond issues — Questions 2-4 — that are essentially state borrowing.
Question 1 proposes a $5,000 cap on contributions to political action committees that make so-called "independent expenditures" to support or oppose candidates in Maine. The ballot measure is regarded as a potential federal test case on limits to campaign contributions.
- If you vote yes… There will be a cap at $5,000.
- If you vote no… There will not be a cap at $5,000 and contributions could exceed that amount for political action committees to support or oppose candidates in Maine.
Question 2 proposes $25 million in borrowing for research, development and commercialization for both private and public institutions in the life sciences, biomedical technology, environmental and renewable energy technology, information technology, advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, aquaculture and marine technology, composites and advanced materials and precision manufacturing.
- If you vote yes… The money will be borrowed to help fund scientific and technological research, development and commercialization for institutions in science and technology.
- If you vote no… The money will not be borrowed and the project will not be funded.
Question 3 proposes $10 million in borrowing "to restore historic buildings owned by governmental and nonprofit organizations" with an obligation that the receive match at least 25% of the funds.
- If you vote yes… The money will be borrowed to help restore buildings owned by the governmental and nonprofit organizations.
- If you vote no… The money will not be borrowed and the project will not be funded.
Question 4 proposes $30 million in state borrowing to design, build and maintain trails for outdoor recreation and "active transportation." The trails could be for nonmotorized or motorized recreation.
- If you vote yes… The money will be borrowed and will go towards the trail builds and maintenance.
- If you vote no… The money will not be borrowed and the project will not be funded.
Question 5 asks voters whether they want to replace Maine's current state flag with a version featuring a pine tree and a blue star. The so-called pine tree flag was Maine's official state flag for less than a decade at the beginning of the 20th century but was replaced in 1909 by a blue flag displaying the state seal.
The pine tree flag has become extremely popular in Maine in recent years. The secretary of state's office solicited design proposals from the public featuring a pine tree and a blue, five-pointed star against a buff background. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows chose the flag designed by Adam Lemire of Gardiner. On the ballot you will not be provided photos of the flags — so study up, or bring your phone to have a look.
- If you vote yes… The pine tree flag will become the new official Maine state flag.
- If you vote no… The blue state seal flag will continue to be Maine’s state flag. The pine tree flag won’t go away, but it won’t be the official flag.
Who is running
There are three congressional seats up for reelection in November: one Senate seat and both of Maine’s House districts. Maine Calling host Jennifer Rooks spoke with each of the candidates about where they stand on current political issues.
U.S. Senate candidate interviews:
U.S. House candidate interviews:
Austin Theriault, who’s facing Golden in the 2nd District, declined to be interviewed on Maine Calling.
U.S. Senate
Maine elects two U.S. senators to represent the state at a national level. Senators serve six-year terms. Maine’s current senators are Angus King, an independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican. Only King is up for reelection this year.
Angus King, I-Brunswick, has served two six-year terms. He serves on four committees and is chairman on two of them. His campaign’s stated priorities are affordable housing, child care and reproductive rights.
Demi Kouzounas, R-Saco, is a veteran and currently works as an adjunct faculty member for the University of New England dental school. She wants to work to close the southern border and widen mental health care access for veterans.
David Costello, D-Brunswick, is from Brunswick and worked in politics in Maryland. He most recently was a program director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. He wants to implement higher taxes for wealthy individuals and corporations. He advocates for term limits and stronger international aid to Ukraine and Gaza.
Jason Cherry, I-Unity, worked as a criminal defense attorney and FBI special agent. He advocates for term limits for all branches of government, and is in support of stronger red flag gun laws. He said he would caucus with both Republicans and Democrats.
U.S. House
Maine is separated into southerly and northerly districts based on population, and each district elects a representative. Because northern Maine is much more rural, the 2nd District is larger than the more urban 1st District. Both of the incumbents are up for reelection.
1st District
District 1 is made up of 5 counties in southern Maine in addition to 12 municipalities from Kennebec County. It houses seven of Maine’s 10 most populous cities, including Portland, the largest. It is generally more liberal and has voted blue for president dating back to the Clinton administration.
Chellie Pingree, D-North Haven, has served eight two-year terms. She is on the Appropriations Committee and advocates for the environment and climate, including protecting farmland, as well as reproductive and abortion rights.
Ronald Russell, R-Kennebunkport, is a veteran and started his own business as a defense contractor. He wants to increase fuel production in order to help lower fuel costs. He also wants to find ways to build lower cost housing without utilizing federal subsidies.
Ethan Alcorn, I-Saco, has a degree in anthropology. He has experience working at both the nonprofit and corporate level and wants to implement term limits for Congress and reduce the U.S. deficit by decreasing international aid spending, including aid to Ukraine.
2nd District
Millions of dollars have gone into this closely watched race from donors around the state and country. The 2nd District comprises 80% of the land in Maine and is made up of 10 counties in northern Maine in addition to 18 municipalities in Kennebec County. It has become increasingly conservative, as evidenced by former President Donald Trump’s victories there in both 2016 and 2020.
Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, has served three terms. He is a moderate Democrat who has split with his party leadership and President Joe Biden more than any other member of the Democratic caucus in the House. Golden has stated — and reiterated multiple times — that he will not endorse either candidate for president.
Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, is a former NASCAR driver and has more recently worked on the business side of racing. He was endorsed by Trump and has pledged, if elected, to support Trump’s agenda on border security, drug trafficking and the economy.
State legislature
Democrats currently control the state Legislature — in the House of Representatives, there are 79 of them, along with 67 Republicans and two independents. In the Maine Senate, there are 13 Republicans and 22 Democrats.
State lawmakers are up for reelection every two years, and the composition of the Legislature determines what state laws will be passed, what’s in the state’s two-year budget and often whether the sitting governor will be able to advance their policy agenda.
Maine’s Secretary of State maintains an exhaustive list of candidates running for state office on its website here.
Sagadahoc County sheriff
This is a closely watched race this election, as the current sheriff’s department faced criticism from Gov. Janet Mills for its handling of the Lewiston mass shooting last October. Sgt. Aaron Skolfield, a Republican running for his first term, was singled out for not using Maine’s “yellow flag” law against the gunman, Robert Card, before the shooting. In his defense, Skolfield said the governor and commission left out important details from the investigation. Current four-term Sheriff Joel Merry is also facing criticism as Skolfield’s superior officer.
U.S. president
Mainers will choose between current Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, former Republican President Donald Trump, Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Justice For All Party candidate Cornel West for president, along with their respective running mates.
In a quirk unique to Maine (and Nebraska), the candidates have an opportunity to split the state’s four total electoral votes.
As a refresher, the electoral college is a process where each state casts their votes for president and vice president, which are then counted by Congress and determine the winner of the presidential race. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and a simple majority of electoral votes (270) is required to elect the president.
Each state has the same number of electors as its number of federal lawmakers, giving Maine four electoral votes. In 48 other states, the presidential candidate who wins the statewide popular vote wins all of the electoral votes for that state. But in Maine, two are awarded to the winner of the statewide vote while the other two are awarded to the winner of each of the state’s two congressional districts.
Usually, one candidate wins all four of the state’s votes. But in 2016 and 2020, Trump picked off one electoral vote in the 2nd District while his opponents walked away with the other three electors by winning the statewide vote and the 1st District.
Nebraska uses a similar electoral-vote splitting scheme.
Maine Public's Your Vote coverage is made possible through the support of AARP Maine, MEMIC, and the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein.
