An Act Regarding Early Voting in Person
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0293
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: PIERCE, BREEN, ACKLEY, FARNSWORTH, GATTINE, HICKMAN, JORGENSEN, KORNFIELD, MATLACK, MOONEN
Amends: 21-A MRSA §606, 21-A MRSA §607, 21-A MRSA §634

Legislative Document
No. 293
H.P. 217
House of Representatives, January 22, 2019
An Act Regarding Early Voting in Person
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PIERCE of Falmouth.
Cosponsored by Senator BREEN of Cumberland and
Representatives: ACKLEY of Monmouth, FARNSWORTH of Portland, GATTINE of 
Westbrook, HICKMAN of Winthrop, JORGENSEN of Portland, KORNFIELD of Bangor, 
MATLACK of St. George, MOONEN of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §606, first ¶, as amended by PL 2013, c. 131, §17, is further 
amended to read:
The Secretary of State shall furnish each municipality with official ballots to be used 
for absentee voting, early voting and for voting on election day.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §606, sub-§3, ¶C is enacted to read:
C.  Upon receipt of regular ballots to be used for early voting, the clerk shall open, in 
the presence of one or more witnesses, each sealed package and verify that the ballots 
do not have any errors and that the correct amount of ballots has been received.  The 
clerk shall immediately complete and return the receipt form provided by the 
Secretary of State, confirming receipt and noting any discrepancies in the type or 
amount of ballots received.  The clerk may remove ballots to be used for testing 
electronic tabulating systems or other voting devices and mark those ballots as 
provided by section 854.  The clerk shall complete the clerk's portion of the warden's 
receipt of ballots and shall then place the ballots in a secure location that may be 
accessed only by an authorized person during the conduct of early voting.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §607, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, §6, is amended 
to read:
4.  Official ballot box required.  Only an official ballot box may be used to receive 
official ballots cast at any election; this includes a voting device as defined in section 808, 
subsection 10 that incorporates an official ballot box and is approved by the Secretary of 
State under section 809, subsection 2.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §634 is enacted to read:
§634.  Early voting in person
1.  Early voting in person.  Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Article, a 
municipality may allow early voting in person commencing no more than 3 months 
before the election and ending at the close of the 3rd business day before election day.  If 
a municipality elects to allow early voting under this section, the municipal clerk shall 
place the ballot box in a secure location in the municipal offices with the same 
requirements as for an accessible voting place as defined by section 630, subsection 1, 
paragraph A that is within view of persons present and allows for only authorized persons 
to approach within 6 feet of the ballot box.  The municipality shall provide voting booths 
as described in section 629.  The restrictions of section 681, subsection 2 apply to early 
voting in the same way as a polling place, even if there is no guardrail present.  An early 
voting ballot may be challenged in the same way as a regular ballot may be challenged 
under section 673.  The clerk shall create and maintain in the central voter registration 
system an alphabetical list, by district, of the persons who were furnished ballots for early 
voting and shall account for all unused ballots provided by the Secretary of State for early 
voting.  Except as provided in section 711, subsection 4, the ballot box must remain 
sealed during the period of early voting and may not be unsealed for the remainder of the 
time required for retention of ballots under section 23 unless the clerk transfers the ballots 
to another sealed container pursuant to rules adopted by the Secretary of State.  The clerk 
shall deliver a ballot box used for early voting under this section to the voting place 
pursuant to section 821 or in the same manner as a ballot box not used for early voting.
2.  Rules.  The Secretary of State shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this 
section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill allows for municipalities to conduct early voting in person during the same 
period as is permitted for absentee voting.  Early voting takes place in the municipal 
offices with the same requirements and restrictions regarding voting places, voting 
booths, ballot boxes and ballot challenges as apply to regular voting.  At the end of early 
voting, the municipal clerk delivers the sealed ballot boxes to the voting place as 
presently required by law.