An Act To Permit Online Absentee Voting
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1375
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: TERRY
Amends: 21-A MRSA §673, 21-A MRSA §753-B, 21-A MRSA §754-A, 21-A MRSA §754-B, 21-A MRSA §755, 21-A MRSA §759

Legislative Document
No. 1375
H.P. 1009
House of Representatives, April 7, 2021
An Act To Permit Online Absentee Voting
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 5, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TERRY of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §673, sub-§1, ¶A, as corrected by RR 2011, c. 2, §21, is 
amended by amending subparagraph (6) to read:
(6)  Did not properly complete the affidavit on the absentee ballot return envelope 
or the affidavit required by section 754-B, subsection 4;
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §673, sub-§1, ¶A, as corrected by RR 2011, c. 2, §21, is 
amended by amending subparagraph (7) to read:
(7)  Did not cast the absentee ballot or complete the affidavit on the absentee ballot 
return envelope or the affidavit required by section 754-B, subsection 4 before the 
appropriate witness;
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §673, sub-§1, ¶A, as corrected by RR 2011, c. 2, §21, is 
amended by amending subparagraph (8) to read:
(8)  Communicated with someone as prohibited by section 754‑A, subsection 1, 
paragraph B or; subsection 3 2, paragraph B; or subsection 3, paragraph D or as 
prohibited by section 754-B, subsection 4, paragraph A or B;
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2013, c. 457, §3, is further 
amended to read:
6.  Clerk to keep list of absentee voters.  The clerk shall create and maintain, in the 
central voter registration system, an alphabetical list, by district, of the persons who 
requested or were furnished absentee ballots, including the persons who voted in the 
presence of the clerk under subsection 8 and, the persons whose ballots were issued to a 
3rd person under subsection 1 and the persons who requested to vote by absentee ballot by 
electronic means pursuant to section 754-B.  The clerk shall maintain a copy of the lists 
required under this subsection for a period of 2 years as a public record.
A.  The list of absentee voters and absentee voter applicants must include each voter's 
name, residence address, voting district and party affiliation; the date and manner by 
which the ballot was requested, issued and received; and a notation of whether the 
application and the ballot were accepted or rejected.  The clerk must also indicate on 
the list when the absentee voter is a uniformed service voter, overseas voter or township 
voter.  By the time that all absentee ballots have been processed on election day, the 
clerk must update the central voter registration system or annotate the printed list of 
absentee voters to reflect all ballots that were received by the close of the polls on 
election day, including a notation of whether the ballots were accepted or rejected and 
the reasons for such rejections.  This list, reflecting all absentee ballots received by the 
close of the polls, must be made available for public inspection.  Any absentee voter 
certified as a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to Title 5, 
section 90‑B must be listed by the voter code assigned to that individual under the 
program instead of by the voter's name and reflect the Address Confidentiality Program 
address assigned to the voter.  The list of absentee voters and absentee voter applicants 
must be sorted so that the program participants appear at the end of the list and must 
be printed on a separate page of the list.  The portion of the list of absentee voters and 
absentee voter applicants relating to Address Confidentiality Program participants 
must be kept under seal and excluded from public inspection.
B.  The clerk creates the list of absentee voters and absentee voter applicants as required 
in paragraph A by marking the records of registered voters in the central voter 
registration system.  The clerk must sign and date each official printed copy of the list 
of absentee voters and absentee voter applicants that is created for public inspection, 
certifying that the list is a true and accurate list of absentee voters and absentee voter 
applicants for the applicable election.  No additional certification is required by the 
registrar of voters.
C.  The clerk shall also keep a list of the 3rd persons designated in applications or 
written requests to whom absentee ballots are sent or delivered under subsection 1 and 
of the number of absentee ballots sent or delivered to them.  This list of 3rd person 
ballot carriers must include telephone numbers for contacting the 3rd persons.
E.  Within 5 business days after each election, the clerk shall update the central voter 
registration system to include the changes required by paragraph A.  The clerk also 
must update the central voter registration system to reflect any absentee ballots 
received after the polls have closed on election day by changing the rejection reason.  
When all updates have been made in the central voter registration system, the clerk 
shall certify this to the Secretary of State and make a final list of absentee ballots 
available for public inspection.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §754-A, first ¶, as amended by PL 2005, c. 364, §9, is further 
amended to read:
Except as provided in section 753‑B, subsection 8 and, section 753‑C and section 
754-B, the method of voting by absentee ballot is as follows.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §754-B is enacted to read:
§754-B.  Absentee voting by electronic means
Notwithstanding any provision of this Title to the contrary, a voter may vote by 
absentee ballot by electronic means in accordance with this section.
1.  Application to vote by absentee ballot by electronic means.  A voter may submit 
an application to vote by absentee ballot by electronic means using an electronic form 
designed or approved by the Secretary of State. 
2.  Deadline for requesting to vote by absentee ballot by electronic means.  The 
Secretary of State may not accept an application to vote by absentee ballot by electronic 
means if the request is received after the date established in section 753-B, subsection 2, 
paragraph D unless the voter states one of the reasons set forth in that paragraph for 
requesting an absentee ballot after the deadline.
3.  Approval or denial of application.  The Secretary of State shall verify the identity 
of the voter who submits an application under subsection 1 in accordance with rules 
adopted under subsection 7.  If the applicant's identity is verified, if the applicant is 
registered to vote and, in the case of a primary election, if the applicant is enrolled and 
meets the requirements of section 111-A, the Secretary of State shall approve the 
application, permit the voter to vote in accordance with subsection 4 and immediately 
transmit an electronic copy of the approved application to the relevant municipal clerk.  
Otherwise, the Secretary of State shall deny the application and shall immediately notify 
the applicant and the relevant municipal clerk by electronic means of the reason for the 
denial.
4.  Method of voting.  When a voter's application to vote by absentee ballot is approved 
under subsection 3, the voter must be allowed to immediately vote by electronic means in 
accordance with this subsection using an electronic absentee ballot designed or approved 
by the Secretary of State.
A.  Unless the voter receives assistance pursuant to paragraph B, the voter shall mark 
the electronic absentee ballot according to section 691 or 692 and rules adopted 
pursuant to this section so that it is impossible for anyone present at the time to see 
how the voter voted.  While the voter is marking the electronic absentee ballot under 
this paragraph, there may be no communication between the voter and any other 
individual as to the person or question for which the voter is to vote.  After marking 
the electronic absentee ballot in accordance with this paragraph, the voter must 
complete an electronic affidavit using an electronic form designed and approved by the 
Secretary of State.
B.  Notwithstanding paragraph A, if the voter is unable to read or mark the electronic 
absentee ballot because of the voter's physical disability, illiteracy or religious faith, 
the voter may request another person, other than the voter's employer, an agent or 
officer of the voter's employer or an agent or officer of the voter's union, if any, to assist 
the voter in reading or marking the electronic absentee ballot.  If the voter receives 
assistance under this paragraph, the voter or the aide must mark the electronic absentee 
ballot according to section 691 or 692 and rules adopted pursuant to this section in the 
presence of a witness.  While the voter or the aide is marking the electronic absentee 
ballot under this paragraph, there may be no communication between the voter and any 
individual other than the aide who must mark the electronic absentee ballot in 
accordance with the voter's instructions for each office or question on the ballot.  After 
marking the electronic absentee ballot in accordance with this paragraph:
(1) The voter, or the aide at the voter's request, shall in the presence of the witness 
complete and sign an electronic affidavit using an electronic form designed and 
approved by the Secretary of State; and
(2) The witness and the aide shall sign the electronic witness and aide certifications, 
respectively, using an electronic form designed and approved by the Secretary of 
State.
5.  Deadline for submission of ballot; transmittal to municipal clerk.  
Notwithstanding section 755, in order to be valid, an absentee ballot submitted by 
electronic means in accordance with this section must be submitted electronically to the 
Secretary of State before the polls are closed on election day.  The Secretary of State shall 
immediately transmit an electronic copy of the submitted absentee ballot, the affidavit and 
any certifications to the relevant municipal clerk.
6.  Procedure on receipt.  When a clerk receives an electronic copy of a submitted 
absentee ballot, an affidavit and any certifications from the Secretary of State pursuant to 
subsection 5, the clerk shall process the absentee ballot in accordance with procedures 
established by the Secretary of State by rule.
7.  Rulemaking.  The Secretary of State shall adopt rules to implement this section.  
The rules must include, but are not limited to:
A.  The required contents of the electronic application form required under subsection 
and the electronic affidavit and electronic witness and aide certifications required 
under subsection 4;
B.  The period of time, including the number of days before an election and the times 
of day, during which a voter may submit an application to vote by absentee ballot by 
electronic means and, if that application is approved, cast a vote by electronic means;
C.  Methods to verify the identity of an applicant under this section, to determine 
whether the applicant is registered to vote and, in the case of a primary election, to 
determine whether the applicant is enrolled and meets the requirements of section 
111-A;
D.  Methods for notifying an applicant and the relevant municipal clerk that an 
application submitted under subsection 1 has been accepted or denied and, if denied, 
of the reason for the denial;
E.  Minimum record-keeping requirements for municipal clerks, including but not 
limited to requiring that a municipal clerk print copies of all applications transmitted 
to the municipal clerk under subsection 3 and all electronic ballots, affidavits and 
certifications transmitted to the municipal clerk under subsection 5;
F.  Procedures to prevent a voter from submitting more than one absentee ballot by 
electronic means and to prevent a voter from submitting an absentee ballot by 
electronic means after having submitted another ballot for the same election in person 
or by mail, except as provided in section 753-B, subsection 4 when the Secretary of 
State has replaced the relevant ballot to reflect the removal of a candidate's name, the 
addition of a candidate's name or the correction of an error; 
G.  Minimum design and security requirements for the electronic platform used for 
absentee voting under this section;
H.  Procedures for the processing of absentee ballots, affidavits and certifications 
received by municipal clerks under subsection 5, which must be as consistent as 
possible with the procedures in this article for the processing of other absentee ballots; 
and 
I.  Procedures for counting absentee ballots submitted under subsection 5, which must 
be as consistent as possible with the procedures in this article for counting other 
absentee ballots.
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §755, as amended by PL 1991, c. 622, Pt. X, §9, is further 
amended to read:
§755.  Deadline
In Except as provided in section 754-B, subsection 5, in order to be valid, an absentee 
ballot must be delivered to the municipal clerk at any time before the polls are closed.
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §759, first ¶, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, §75, is further 
amended to read:
The Except as provided in section 754-B and the rules adopted under that section for 
the counting of electronic absentee ballots, the following counting procedure for absentee 
ballots must be observed at each voting place.
SUMMARY
This bill allows registered voters to cast absentee ballots by electronic means approved 
by the Secretary of State.