2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 21-A: ELECTIONS › Chapter 9: CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS › Subchapter 2: ELECTION PROCEDURE › Article 3: VOTING AND CHALLENGES › 21-A §671. Voting procedure

§671. Voting procedure
(CONTAINS TEXT WITH VARYING EFFECTIVE DATES)
The voting procedure is as follows.   [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
1.  Name announced.
A voter who wishes to vote must state the voter's name and residence address to an election clerk, who shall announce the name in a loud, clear voice. If the voter's stated residence address is different from the residence address listed on the incoming voting list, the voter must be directed to complete an updated voter registration application before voting.
[PL 2019, c. 371, §20 (AMD).]
2.  Name checked and ballot issued.
The election clerk in charge of the incoming voting list shall place a check mark or a horizontal line, in red ink, on the list beside the voter's name, and if there is more than one party or district ballot style used at that voting place, the election clerk must state in a loud, clear voice the party or district ballot style that the voter must be given. The election clerk in charge of the ballots shall give the voter one ballot of each kind to which the voter is entitled, and if there is more than one party or district ballot style used at that voting place, the election clerk must repeat the party or district ballot style being given to the voter. The voter must be given a ballot when the voter’s name is checked on the incoming voting list and may not be referred to another location to obtain the ballot. A voter who will vote using the accessible voting system may not be given an official ballot, but may be given a sample ballot to use as a voting aid.
(TEXT EFFECTIVE 1/01/24) In a primary election, if the voter is unenrolled but eligible to vote in a party's primary election under section 341 or 441, the election clerk in charge of the incoming voting list shall ask the voter to identify which party's ballot the voter wishes to receive. Unless the voter chooses not to receive a party ballot, the election clerk in charge of the incoming voting list shall state in a loud, clear voice the party ballot that the voter has requested and shall make a notation on the incoming voting list of the party ballot requested by the voter. The election clerk in charge of ballots shall give the voter the party ballot and shall repeat the party ballot being given to the voter.
[PL 2015, c. 447, §18 (RPR); PL 2021, c. 750, §9 (AMD); PL 2021, c. 750, §14 (AFF).]
3.  Ballot issued.
[PL 2015, c. 447, §19 (RP).]
4.  Retires to voting booth.
After receiving the ballot or ballots, the voter shall retire to a voting booth and mark the ballot or ballots without delay and leave the voting booth. No ballot, marked or unmarked, may be left in the voting booth by the voter. If the voter is using the accessible voting system, an election official shall escort the voter to the voting station, instruct the voter on the proper use of the accessible voting system, provide the voter with access to all ballots to which the voter is entitled and permit the voter to cast the voter's ballot using the accessible voting system.
[PL 2015, c. 447, §20 (AMD).]
5.  Ballot deposited.
When the voter leaves the voting booth, the voter shall proceed to the ballot box. The clerk shall require the voter to deposit in the ballot box all ballots, marked or unmarked, issued to the voter under subsection 2, and the voter shall then leave the area enclosed by the guardrail. The voter may not leave the guardrail enclosure until the voter has deposited all ballots that were issued to the voter. The voter may permit a family member or an assistant under section 672 to deposit the ballots for the voter.
A. [PL 2001, c. 310, §35 (RP).]
[PL 2015, c. 447, §21 (AMD).]
6.  Reentry prohibited.
A voter who has once left the area enclosed by the guardrail may not reenter.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
7.  Ballot box opening covered.
The election clerk in charge of the ballot box shall keep the opening covered except when receiving a ballot.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
8.  Secrecy preserved.
The warden at each voting place may not remain or allow any other person to remain where the warden or that person can see how a voter votes, except that a proper official may remain when the official's assistance has been requested by a voter.
[PL 1999, c. 645, §3 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 459, §58 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 436, §95 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 645, §3 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 310, §35 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 584, §9 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 453, §55 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 455, §29 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 253, §26 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 447, §§18-21 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 371, §20 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 750, §9 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 750, §14 (AFF).