An Act to Assist Clerks in Facilitating Elections and to Improve Access to In-person Absentee Voting for Working People by Increasing Time for Absentee Ballot Processing and In-person Voting
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0812
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: SKOLD, BRENNER, ABDI, COLLINGS, DHALAC, KUHN, RANA, ROEDER, SAYRE, DUSON
Amends: 21-A MRSA §753-B, 21-A MRSA §760-B

Legislative Document
No. 812
H.P. 501
House of Representatives, February 21, 2023
An Act to Assist Clerks in Facilitating Elections and to Improve 
Access to In-person Absentee Voting for Working People by 
Increasing Time for Absentee Ballot Processing and In-person 
Voting
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SKOLD of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNER of Cumberland and
Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, COLLINGS of Portland, DHALAC of South Portland, 
KUHN of Falmouth, RANA of Bangor, ROEDER of Bangor, SAYRE of Kennebunk, Senator: 
DUSON of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2021, c. 273, §21, is 
further amended by enacting a new first blocked paragraph to read:
In a municipality with a population greater than 7,000, the clerk shall provide an 
opportunity for absentee voting in the presence of the clerk for at least 8 hours on one 
Saturday and 8 hours on one Sunday within 18 days before the date of the election.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§8-A is enacted to read:
8-A.  Grants for certain municipalities.  The Secretary of State shall provide grants 
for the purpose of expanding the hours available for absentee voting in the presence of a 
clerk of:
A.  Up to $50,000 per year to municipalities with a population greater than 7,000; and
B. Up to $40,000 per year to municipalities with a population less than or equal to 
7,000 that provide an opportunity for absentee voting in the presence of a clerk for at 
least 8 hours on one Saturday and at least 8 hours on one Sunday within 18 days before 
the date of an election.
The Secretary of State shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §760-B, first ¶, as amended by PL 2021, c. 11, §1, is further 
amended to read:
Any municipality or jurisdiction that conducts its own elections may opt to process 
absentee ballots beginning on the 7th 14th day immediately prior to election day.  The clerk 
shall use the following procedure when processing the absentee ballots during this time.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §760-B, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §38, is 
further amended to read:
3.  Inspection of absentee envelopes before processing.  A member of the public may 
make a written request of the clerk to inspect absentee ballot applications and envelopes 
before they are processed if the request is made by 9:00 a.m. on each 5:00 p.m. of the day 
before the day that the clerk will process absentee ballots as specified on the notice of early 
processing under subsection 2.  The clerk shall make the absentee ballot applications and 
envelopes received by that time available for public inspection for one hour before the 
starting time specified in the notice of early processing for processing the absentee ballots.  
The clerk may immediately proceed to process the ballots after the one-hour inspection 
time has elapsed.
SUMMARY
This bill allows 14 days for the processing of absentee ballots instead of 7 as in current 
law, adjusts the hours for a member of the public to make a written request of the clerk to 
inspect ballot applications and envelopes before they are processed, requires a municipality 
with a population greater than 7,000 to provide an opportunity for absentee voting in the 
presence of a clerk for at least 8 hours on one Saturday and 8 hours on one Sunday in the 
days before the date of an election and requires the Secretary of State to provide grants 
to certain municipalities for the purpose of expanding the hours available for absentee 
voting in the presence of a clerk.