Early voting in Maine surpasses last midterm election

People stood in a line that stretched across the entire second floor of Portland City Hall on the last day of early, in-person voting on Thursday, waiting at times more than an hour to cast their ballots in the midterm election that will decide three congressional seats, the governorship and every seat in the state Legislature.  

“Good for us,” one voter remarked. 

Early voting numbers have surpassed the last midterm election in 2022 and are approaching those from the 2024 presidential election.

As of the latest data from Friday, 290,382 voters had returned absentee ballots that were accepted. That also includes people who voted early in the presence of a clerk. 

In 2024, 370,476 absentee ballots were returned and accepted through Election Day. In 2022, it was 236,535. 

Thursday also marked the last day to request an absentee ballot. This election, 323,562 absentee ballots were requested, compared to 388,815 in 2024 and 252,702 in 2022. 

Democrats have cast more early ballots than Republicans, about 47% to almost 23% out of all accepted ballots. Voters who are not enrolled with any political party have also cast more than Republicans, just over 27%.