Some states with mail-in voting send ballots to all registered voters, but voters in Maine must request an absentee ballot under a system that tracks ballots closely to prevent errors or fraud.
Scott Thistle
Scott Thistle is the State House reporter for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has covered politics and government in Maine since 2006. Prior to that he served as the State House reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. A Maine native, Thistle has worked in journalism since 1990, when he got his start at a weekly newspaper in rural Oxford County, Maine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an active volunteer with the National Ski Patrol. He resides with his wife, Amy and his two sons Finn and Kai, in Auburn, Maine. @thisdog
Super PAC ad attacking Sen. Susan Collins distorts some facts
The ad by the Senate Majority PAC targets Collins’ 2017 vote for a GOP tax bill and donations from special interests, but draws on distortions and omissions to make its case.
Mills considers safeguards for absentee voting, after warning letter from postal service
The governor and other top state officials are considering a range of options for ensuring that Maine’s absentee voting system works smoothly this fall, as the postal service warns states of potential mail delays.
Federal judge again hears arguments against Maine’s ranked-choice voting law
In a federal lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, 4 voters contend they were either disenfranchised by the system or forced to cast ballots for candidates they did not support.
Maine secretary of state reaffirms decision to disqualify ranked-choice petitions
Matt Dunlap, for the second time, has determined that the Maine Republican Party failed to collect enough valid voter signatures to put a citizen’s veto question on the November ballot.
Ads charging Gideon with taking corporate money are factual, but distorted
The National Republican Senatorial Committee ad levels a charge of hypocrisy that supporters of Republican Sen. Susan Collins have returned to repeatedly.
Federal aid limits COVID-19 damage to Maine state budget
Expanded unemployment benefits, stimulus checks and the Paycheck Protection Program helped to soften the economic impact of restrictions and kept the state’s budget from falling deeply into the red.
Latest public poll again shows Gideon leading Collins in U.S. Senate race
The Democratic challenger has a 5-point lead over the longtime Republican incumbent in a poll of 500 likely Maine voters released Tuesday by the Bangor Daily News.
Democrats maintain large lead in voter registration in Maine
Both major parties have their highest enrollments in at least 30 years, but Democrats are gaining members at a faster clip, driven in part by recent presidential and U.S. Senate primary elections.
Ballot delivery not an ‘acute’ concern for Maine’s top election official
Mainers broke records in the July primary when they cast more than 200,000 votes by absentee ballot, and Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap thinks that number will triple for November.