With the election three weeks away, more than 133,000 Mainers already have voted by absentee ballot with Democrats outpacing Republicans in both requesting and returning ballots.
Mainers are being encouraged to vote via absentee ballot during the pandemic to limit the spread of the coronavirus, including by reducing congestion at polling places on Election Day.
Democrats had requested 188,280 ballots compared to 67,405 for Republicans, and Democrats had returned about 78,000 compared to just over 24,000 by Republicans as of Tuesday, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The last day for in-person absentee voting will be Friday, Oct. 30; mailed ballots must arrive by the time polls close to be counted.
In all, 345,660 absentee ballot requests have been fulfilled by local election officials for the Nov. 3 election, which features the presidential race and a closely watched battle for one of Maine’s two U.S. Senate seats.
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has estimated as many as 500,000 to 600,000 of the state’s 1.06 million registered voters will cast their ballots remotely.
