An Act to Improve the State's Election Laws by Amending the Laws Relating to Automatic Voter Registration
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1344
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: SUPICA, BRENNER, BOYER, COPELAND, DHALAC, EATON, MATLACK, ZEIGLER
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1, 21-A MRSA §121-A, 21-A MRSA §721

Legislative Document
No. 1344
H.P. 858
House of Representatives, March 28, 2023
An Act to Improve the State's Election Laws by Amending the Laws 
Relating to Automatic Voter Registration
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SUPICA of Bangor.
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNER of Cumberland and
Representatives: BOYER of Poland, COPELAND of Saco, DHALAC of South Portland, 
EATON of Deer Isle, MATLACK of St. George, ZEIGLER of Montville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1, sub-§21, as amended by PL 2011, c. 342, §4, is further 
amended to read:
21.  Incoming voting list.  "Incoming voting list" means the printed list of all of the 
voters in a municipality that is used by election officials at a voting place to record which 
voters have been issued a ballot at an election.  The list must include the following 
information for each voter and may not include any other information: name; year of birth; 
residence address; enrollment status; electoral district; voter status, active or inactive; voter 
record number; designations regarding challenged ballots, absentee ballots or whether a 
voter needs to show identification before voting; and any special designations indicating 
uniformed service voters, overseas voters or township voters.  The portion of the incoming 
voting list relating to Address Confidentiality Program participants must be kept under seal 
and excluded from public inspection.  The residence address for any voter whose address 
has been made confidential pursuant to section 22, subsection 3, paragraph B may not be 
printed displayed on the incoming voting list, and the words "address is confidential" must 
be printed displayed on the list instead.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §121-A, as amended by PL 2021, c. 439, §3 and affected by 
§15, is further amended to read:
§121-A.  Deadline for registration
The deadline for receipt of voter registration applications submitted by mail or by a 3rd 
person is the close of business on the 21st day before election day.  The deadline for receipt 
of voter registration applications submitted online is midnight on the 21st day before 
election day.  The deadline for receipt of voter registration applications transmitted by the 
Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles pursuant to section 232 or 
by a source agency other than the Bureau of Motor Vehicles pursuant to section 233 is 
midnight on the 7th day before election day.  The deadline for in-person registration is the 
close of the polls on election day.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §721, as amended by PL 2015, c. 447, §25, is further amended 
to read:
§721.  Reports of registration and enrollment
Within 15 business days after any statewide election, the registrar shall update all 
information in the central voter registration system for all voters in the municipality to 
reflect any voter registration activity after the incoming voting list was printed prepared for 
that election and up until the close of the polls on election day.  The registrar shall also 
enter any designations of challenged ballots in the applicable voter records in the central 
voter registration system.  The registrar shall notify the Secretary of State as soon as these 
tasks are complete.
After the registrar has completed the update of the central voter registration system, as 
required by this section, and no later than 45 business days after the election, unless a 
recount has been requested pursuant to section 737‑A, the clerk shall update the central 
voter registration system by entering voter participation history for that election.  The clerk 
shall notify the Secretary of State as soon as this task is completed.
In a municipality in which a recount has been requested pursuant to section 737‑A, the 
clerk shall update the central voter registration system by entering voter participation 
history for that election within 20 business days after receiving the incoming voting list 
that has been returned by the Secretary of State after the recount.  The clerk shall notify the 
Secretary of State as soon as this task is completed.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §721, as amended by PL 2021, c. 750, §10 and affected by 
§14, is further amended to read:
§721.  Reports of registration and enrollment
Within 15 business days after any statewide election, the registrar shall update all 
information in the central voter registration system for all voters in the municipality to 
reflect any voter registration activity after the incoming voting list was printed prepared for 
that election and up until the close of the polls on election day.  The registrar shall also 
enter any designations of challenged ballots in the applicable voter records in the central 
voter registration system.  The registrar shall notify the Secretary of State as soon as these 
tasks are complete.
After the registrar has completed the update of the central voter registration system, as 
required by this section, and no later than 45 business days after the election, unless a 
recount has been requested pursuant to section 737‑A, the clerk shall update the central 
voter registration system by entering voter participation history for that election and, if the 
election was a primary election, by identifying which party's ballot, if any, was issued to 
each participating unenrolled voter.  The clerk shall notify the Secretary of State as soon as 
this task is completed.
In a municipality in which a recount has been requested pursuant to section 737‑A, the 
clerk shall update the central voter registration system by entering voter participation 
history for that election and, if the election was a primary election, by identifying which 
party's ballot, if any, was issued to each participating unenrolled voter within 20 business 
days after receiving the incoming voting list that has been returned by the Secretary of State 
after the recount.  The clerk shall notify the Secretary of State as soon as this task is 
completed.
Sec. 5.  Effective date. This Act takes effect November 1, 2023 except that that 
section that amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, section 721 as amended by 
Public Law 2021, chapter 750 takes effect January 1, 2024.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the definition of "incoming voting list" in the laws governing elections 
to remove the requirement that the list be a printed list.  The bill also provides that the 
deadline for receipt of voter registration applications transmitted by the Department of the 
Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles or by a source agency other than the Bureau 
of Motor Vehicles under the automatic voter registration law is midnight on the 7th day 
before election day.  Except for the section of the bill that amends the law regarding reports 
of registration and enrollment that was amended by Public Law 2021, chapter 750, which 
has an effective date of January 1, 2024, the bill establishes an effective date of November 
1, 2023 for consistency with the effective date of Public Law 2021, chapter 439, which 
amended the law establishing deadlines for receipt of voter registration applications.