An Act to Prohibit the Use of Ballot Drop Boxes
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1055
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: BRAKEY
Amends: 21-A MRSA §626-A, 21-A MRSA §752-B, 21-A MRSA §754-A

Legislative Document
No. 1055
S.P. 424
In Senate, March 7, 2023
An Act to Prohibit the Use of Ballot Drop Boxes
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §626-A, as amended by PL 2021, c. 246, §4, is further amended 
to read:
§626-A.  Voting place report
The municipal clerk shall file a voting place report at least 60 days before each election 
conducted under this Title, on a form designed by the Secretary of State, with information 
about each voting place, including, but not limited to, the location of each voting place, the 
location of each secured drop box, the times for in-person absentee voting at the clerk’s 
office under section 753‑B, subsection 8, the poll opening time and the number of voting 
booths that will be used.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §752-B, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 273, §12, is amended to 
read:
§752-B.  Secured drop boxes for the return of absentee ballots prohibited
1.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
the following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Absentee voting period" means the time period beginning on the first date that 
absentee ballots are issued by the municipality and ending at 8 p.m. on election day.
B.  "Secured drop box" means a device containing a slot or chute through which an 
absentee voter may deposit an absentee ballot into a secure, locked collection box in 
accordance with the requirements of this section.
2.  Secured drop boxes authorized prohibited.  A municipality may obtain and install 
not use a secured drop box that meets the requirements of this section.  The secured drop 
box may be used by voters who are authorized to return absentee ballots in a secured drop 
box pursuant to section 754‑A, subsection 1, paragraph D.
3.  Location and number of secured drop boxes.  The secured drop box must be 
located outside the municipal office building or the building where in-person absentee 
voting takes place before an election.  If the secured drop box is positioned within or against 
an outside wall of the municipal office building, it must be bolted or otherwise securely 
fastened to the wall or to the deck or landing to prevent its removal by an unauthorized 
person.  Otherwise, the secured drop box must be securely affixed to a post that is sunk into 
the ground, affixed to a post that is set into a concrete pad or bolted or otherwise securely 
affixed to a platform or other structure in a manner that prevents removal of the drop box 
by an unauthorized person.
A municipality may seek approval from the Secretary of State to obtain and install an 
additional secured drop box or boxes at other locations within the municipality by 
certifying to the Secretary of State at least 90 days before the election that the additional 
secured drop box or boxes meet all of the requirements of this section, other than the 
requirement that the secured drop box be located outside of the municipal office building 
or the building where in-person absentee voting takes place before an election.
4.  Secured drop box design; accessibility.  The slot or chute of a secured drop box 
must be designed to prevent an individual from reaching into the slot or chute and accessing 
the contents of the secure collection box and to protect the contents of the secure collection 
box from the elements.  The secured drop box must include a mechanism to close and lock 
the slot or chute in a manner that prevents the deposit of additional absentee ballots at 8 
p.m. on election day as provided in subsection 8.  A secured drop box must comply with 
guidelines issued by the Secretary of State to ensure accessibility to individuals with 
disabilities.
5.   Monitoring of secured drop box.  During the absentee voting period, each secured 
drop box must be monitored periodically by law enforcement personnel, municipal staff or 
a surveillance camera.
6.  Labeling of secured drop box.  A secured drop box must be labeled, or a sign must 
be posted on or near the secured drop box, to indicate that it is an official secured drop box 
for the return of absentee ballots.  Unless the secured drop box is affixed to the outside wall 
of the municipal office building, the label or sign must include the name of the 
municipality.  A municipality may include on the label or sign instructions for voters 
regarding absentee voting requirements and warnings against use of the secured drop box 
by voters of other municipalities.
7.  Use and access during absentee voting period.  The secured drop box must be 
used only for the return of absentee ballots and not for the deposit of other municipal office 
filings during the absentee voting period.  During the absentee voting period, only the 
municipal clerk or designees under subsection 8 may possess the key to the secured drop 
box or have access to the contents of the secured collection box.  If items other than returned 
absentee ballots are deposited in the secured drop box during the absentee voting period, 
the municipal clerk or designees shall deliver those items to the appropriate municipal 
official.
8.  Periodic retrieval of ballots.  During the absentee voting period, the municipal 
clerk or a team of 2 people designated by the clerk shall periodically remove absentee 
ballots from each secured drop box and deliver the absentee ballots to the clerk's office to 
be stored in a secure manner.  At a minimum, absentee ballots must be removed from each 
secured drop box by the clerk or team of 2 designees:
A.  At least once on each day that the clerk's office is open during the absentee voting 
period;
B.  At all additional times necessary to ensure that additional absentee ballots deposited 
in the secured drop box fit within the secured collection box and are not accessible to 
unauthorized persons; and
C.  At 8 p.m. on election day.  
The identity of the persons who remove the absentee ballots from each secured drop box 
and the date and time that the absentee ballots are removed must be recorded on a form 
designed by the Secretary of State and initialed or signed by the clerk or team of 2 designees 
who removed the absentee ballots.
9.   Locking of secured drop boxes when polls close.  The municipal clerk or team of 
designees under subsection 8 shall lock the secured drop box at 8 p.m. on election day to 
prevent the deposit of additional absentee ballots in the secured drop box.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §754-A, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §36, is 
further amended to read:
D.  The voter or an immediate family member of the voter shall return the sealed 
envelope containing the voted ballot to the clerk of the municipality where the voter 
resides by mail, or by personal delivery or by depositing it into a secured drop box 
accessible by only the municipal clerk.  The voter shall send a completed voter 
registration or absentee ballot application, if necessary, in a separate envelope.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits the use of ballot drop boxes.