What you need to know to vote Tuesday

A sign reminds Lewiston residents to do their civic duty early on Election Day. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Polling places will open across the state Tuesday morning as voters get their chance to choose candidates for governor, U.S. House of Representatives and county and local offices.

Communities in Maine open their polls at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., depending on the town. Polls close statewide at 8 p.m.

Live statewide and local results will be posted at SunJournal.com as the votes are counted, starting as soon as the polls close Tuesday evening.

To find out where your polling place is, call your town office or enter your address on the state’s ballot lookup page. The page also shows voters who their elected officials are and what will be on their state ballots. Individual communities post sample local ballots online that show the city and town races and ballot questions.

Bill LaMontagne, left, and DJ Sjostrom of Auburn Public Works set up voting booths Monday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine in Auburn. The Boys & Girls Club is one of three locations where Auburn residents will vote on Tuesday. City Clerk Sue Clements-Dallaire said she is expecting a high turnout on Election day, and said 3,766 people have already requested an absentee ballot. She had 3,027 vote absentee in 2018, the last gubernatorial election. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Voters who want to learn more about their candidates or the ballot questions can find information on the Sun Journal’s Election 2022 page.

Any Maine residents 18 or older can still register to vote in person, either at city and town halls or at polling places on Tuesday. While voters are not required to show photo identification to cast their ballots, anyone registering to vote the first time in Maine needs to provide proof that they are eligible residents, such as a driver’s license, student ID, or a utility bill or paycheck stub.

About 250,000 Mainers have taken out absentee ballots. While it is too late to ask for an absentee ballot except under special circumstances, it is not too late to submit ballots that have already been provided.

Voters in possession of an absentee ballot who want to ensure that it gets counted should drop it off at the local town office or deposit it in a secure ballot drop box, if available, by 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Maine Secretary of State’s office.

Or, they can hold onto the ballot and just vote in person on Tuesday instead.

Don’t mail a ballot at this point. The U.S. Post Office only guarantees delivery of absentee ballots if they are mailed at least a week before the election. And that window has already passed.

For more information about voting in Maine, go to the Secretary of State’s voter information page.