AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers will vote alongside 14 other states in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries on what is known as Super Tuesday, which is often the most important day on the nominating calendar.
The primaries are looking increasingly uncompetitive. Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have large polling leads in the Republican and Democratic contests, respectively, although former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is still challenging Trump.
It is the first year that the primaries are “semi-open” to independent voters. There are also a handful of other Maine races on the ballot today. Here’s what you need to know about the election and how to follow results with us at the Bangor Daily News.
Find your polling place.
Polls open between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., depending on the population of your city or town. All polls close at 8 p.m. You can find your polling place on this state website.
You can register to vote at the polls.
Maine has same-day registration, meaning you can bring identification and proof of residency to your polling place and register to vote. The state has an online tool to check your registration status if you don’t know it.
Unenrolled voters can choose which primary to vote in.
The new semi-open primary law passed by the Democratic-led Legislature in 2021 allows unenrolled voters to choose whether to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. You can only choose one of them.
If you are already registered in a party and want to vote in another party’s primary, you are out of luck. The deadline for switching parties in time to cast a vote was Feb. 16 under Maine law.
You still have time to turn in your absentee ballot.
All absentee ballots are counted as long as they are returned to city or town clerks by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
If you recently mailed your ballot, check the state’s lookup tool to ensure the local clerk received it. If your absentee ballot was not received, you can vote in person and your absentee ballot will be voided.
What do the primary ballots look like?
Trump and Haley are the only active Republican contenders on the Maine ballot. Three other candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and businessman Ryan Binkley — have dropped out but remain on the ballot. Votes for them will count.
Biden and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota are the only Democrats on the ballot. A longshot candidate, Stephen Lyons of Maryland, is the only candidate in either presidential primary who is eligible for write-in votes.
What else is on the ballot?
Voters in part of South Portland will decide who fills the seat of the late state Rep. Lois Reckitt, a Democrat who died in October. Democrat Matthew Beck, a retired union organizer, is running against independents Tristram Howard and Brendan Williams.
There is not much else on the ballot because cities and towns typically hold their major elections in June or November, leaving little to coincide with the March elections every four years. But we have highlighted two notable votes on housing projects in Kingfield and Kennebunk.
Here’s how to follow results.
We will start posting election results after polls close at 8 p.m. Follow our election results page and the main website for coverage. We will be calling the primaries in concert with our national election partners at Decision Desk HQ.
You can also sign up for my Pocket Politics texting service, where I will share race calls, results and insights first.
