Voters line up to cast their ballots during in-person early absentee voting in the State of Maine Room at Portland City Hall on Tuesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

Maine absentee voter turnout appears to be on track to blow past the most recent midterm totals, according to data from the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.

Whether by mail or at their town offices, more than 100,000 Mainers had already cast their ballots in this fall’s high-stakes elections as of Friday.

Maine Democrats, who hope to take a U.S. Senate seat and keep the Blaine House and 2nd Congressional District, appear to be especially enthusiastic so far with their early votes — perhaps spurred on by an unpopular Republican president and a tight race at the top of the ballot.

Voters can request absentee ballots until next Thursday, Oct. 29. Those ballots must be returned to municipal clerks by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Here are a few numbers to know.

101,777

That’s the number of absentee ballots returned and accepted so far — already more than the total absentee turnout for the June 9 primary election. The figure is on track to blow past the most recent midterm election, in 2022.

Using the Maine secretary of state’s most recent count, about 11% of Maine’s registered voters have returned their ballot already.

By this point in 2022, only about 77,700 voters had returned their ballots. Although there was no U.S. Senate seat on the ballot that year in Maine, there were competitive races for governor and the 2nd Congressional District.

A person reads a voting information sign before heading for in-person early absentee voting in the State of Maine Room at Portland City Hall on Tuesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

And by this time in the 2014 election — the last time Republican Sen. Susan Collins topped the ballot in a Maine midterm — only 26,000 voters had submitted absentee ballots.

This year’s early numbers aren’t that far behind 2024, when Maine recorded its highest-ever turnout in a general election. Eighteen days before that presidential election, the state recorded that it had accepted just shy of 130,000 absentee ballots.

53%

This is the percentage of returned ballots that have been cast by registered Democrats, a strong early showing from the party hoping to hold onto the governor’s mansion and the state’s two seats in the U.S. House, while also attempting to take Collins’ Senate seat.

By this point in 2022, when Democrats swept Maine’s elections, voters registered for that party had cast 54% of the ballots, and ended up with 49% of the absentee vote. In 2024, registered Democrats made up 47% of the absentee vote by this point in the race, and finished that election with a 42% share.

Unaffiliated voters, meanwhile, make up about 25% of the early vote so far.

Traditional political wisdom, and the data in other states this year, suggests that Democrats tend to vote early, while Republicans mostly vote on Election Day. That also bears out in Maine’s data so far, with about 17% of registered Democrats having returned absentee ballots while only 7% of Republicans have done so.

Republican nominee for governor Bobby Charles encouraged his party to close the gap in a social media post Sunday.

“If you’re with me, I need you to vote,” Charles said. “Right now, the Democrats are outvoting us. Don’t wait. Make a plan, cast your ballot, and bring a friend with you.”

62,135

That’s the number of early votes cast so far from Maine’s 1st Congressional District, a stronghold for Democrats where turnout may determine the fate of the chamber-tilting Senate race.

That makes up 61% of the total votes so far — several percentage points stronger than at this point in 2022 and 2024 for the 1st District.

The district’s House member, Rep. Chellie Pingree, is running for a 10th term in Congress this year and is widely expected to ease past her opponent, Republican Ron Russell. Enthusiastic turnout in the district is likely not driven by that election, but by the two statewide races on the ballot.

0.76%

This is the small share of absentee ballots that have been rejected by local clerks for one reason or another.

Voters line up for in-person early absentee voting in the State of Maine Room at Portland City Hall on Tuesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

Of these 775 ballots, 23 are in the process of being remedied by voters.

The most common reason for ballots getting rejected, the state database showed, was that the voter never received their ballot in the first place. The second-most common reason was that the voter “spoiled” the ballot such that the clerk could not count it. This applied to 220 voters.

The state also reported that 23 Mainers who requested absentee ballots died before they could cast them.