by Emma Davis, Maine Morning Star
Absentee voting is underway for the March 5 presidential main elections in Maine.
The Democratic and Republican events are holding primaries, and there may be additionally a particular election for a part of South Portland: Home District 122. The no-excuse absentee voting interval continues by Feb. 29, which incorporates mail-in and in-person absentee voting at city and metropolis halls.
The candidates on the Democratic poll embrace President Joe Biden and Dean Phillips. Stephen Lyons can also be a declared write-in for the Democratic race.
Whereas Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy have since dropped out of the Republican race for president, they are going to stay on Maine’s poll until their campaigns notify the Secretary of State that they’ve withdrawn from the race. The opposite candidates on the Republican poll embrace Ryan Binkley, Nikki Haley, and former President Donald Trump — although Trump’s eligibility has been questioned.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, disqualified Trump from Maine’s Republican main poll in December below the “revolt clause” of the U.S. Structure due to his involvement within the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Maine was the second state to disqualify Trump below this clause after Colorado.
Trump promptly appealed the choice to the Maine Superior Courtroom, which punted the query again to Bellows and ordered her to subject a brand new ruling as soon as the U.S. Supreme Courtroom guidelines on the Colorado case. Regardless of quite a few appeals, Maine’s prime courtroom has maintained the choice to await the U.S. Supreme Courtroom ruling. Oral arguments for the Supreme Courtroom case came about Thursday.
“Ought to any candidates be discovered, at this level, to be disqualified from the poll, or go away, the Division [of the Secretary of State] would notify municipal clerks, and see can be despatched with absentee ballots, posted at voting websites, and posted on the Secretary’s web site,” the Secretary of State’s workplace wrote in a press release.
The primaries this 12 months are being carried out below a brand new semi-open main legislation. Because of this unenrolled voters can vote in any get together main with out having to enroll within the get together.
Voters enrolled in a celebration can nonetheless solely vote in that get together’s main poll. So as to vote in one other get together’s main, voters have to vary their registration a minimum of 15 days previous to the first. Nonetheless, as a result of that date falls on a vacation, Feb. 19, which is President’s Day, voters ought to change their registration no later than Feb. 16, based on the Secretary of State’s Workplace.
This can even be the primary 12 months that presidential main elections in Maine are accomplished utilizing ranked-choice voting. The final presidential election in 2020 was the primary time ranked-choice voting was utilized in a presidential race, though Maine has used ranked-choice voting for different races courting again to 2018.
In a race with three or extra candidates, if a candidate doesn’t obtain greater than 50% of the vote in Election Night time counting, then a ranked-choice tabulation will likely be carried out in Augusta within the days following.
“Whether or not it’s a busy schedule, a need to vote from dwelling, or issues in regards to the climate on Election Day, there are many causes Mainers might select to vote forward of time,” Bellows mentioned. “Maine’s no-excuse absentee voting legal guidelines guarantee voters can take part within the upcoming presidential main in the way in which that’s most handy for them.”
The Inexperienced Impartial, Libertarian, and No Labels Events selected to not maintain presidential primaries.
Maine Morning Star is a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit information community supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maine Morning Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lauren McCauley for questions: information@mainemorningstar.com. Comply with Maine Morning Star on Fb and Twitter.
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