FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2009
Contact: Matthew Dunlap
207-626-8400

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap Announces
Maine's 2009 Early Voting Pilot Program

Augusta — Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announces the start of Maine's 2009 Early Voting Pilot Program, which will begin next week in participating municipalities. “Nine communities will be opening designated polling places a week early, allowing residents to cast their ballots just as they ordinarily would on Election Day,” Dunlap said. “It's called Early Voting, and it is a major effort to make exercising your Constitutional right to vote as convenient as possible.”  

Early Voting is taking place in Augusta, Bangor, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gorham, Hallowell, Saco, Scarborough, and Standish. “These nine communities who are operating Early Voting this year have really stepped up to the plate, crafting their own plans for carrying out this initiative,” Dunlap said, adding “if it's as well-received in these locations as it was in an earlier and more limited pilot, Early Voting could become available as an option for municipalities statewide, as another way to accommodate the busy schedules of the voting public.”

In 2007, Secretary Dunlap partnered with three municipalities to conduct an initial pilot of Early Voting. The results of the initial pilot, published in a 2008 report to the Legislature, show that early voting was enthusiastically received by voters and election officials alike. The Legislature, embracing the positive results of the 2007 pilot, authorized an expanded 2009 Early Voting pilot program. This year, the Secretary of State is working with a larger cross-section of communities to assure that the enhanced voter access Early Voting offers can be successfully provided in a variety of communities, while at the same time maintaining the highest level of integrity of the elections process.

Secretary Dunlap explained, “The purpose of the expanded pilot program is simple - to determine if Early Voting can be a success, for both voters and municipal officials. The municipalities taking part in this Early Voting pilot program are providing a simple, anonymous questionnaire to participating voters, allowing them to weigh in on the process. It's a great way for us to get some feedback.” Dunlap continued, “It's the opinions of the voters that truly matter - not just in deciding the outcome of the elections, but in this case, in how those elections will be carried out, now and in the future.”

Early Voting is often confused with Absentee Voting, but the two are different.  In recent years, Absentee Voting has been made easier than ever before, but the Absentee process still requires several steps: voters must request and obtain a ballot, fill out and then seal their completed ballots in an envelope, sign the envelopes, and turn them in to their municipal elections official on or prior to Election Day. The Early Voting process allows people in these nine pilot communities to simply stop by a designated polling place and cast a ballot, just as they would on Election Day.

Early Voting locations and hours of operation for the nine participating municipalities are provided below.

2009 Early Voting Pilot Program
Early Voting Locations and Hours of Operation

(There are nine participating municipalities)