Here’s what’s on the ballot in Standish
Standish Municipal Center, where Standish voters can cast ballots this election season. (File photo)
Read all of our coverage of Maine's 2026 election or stay up to date with the latest developments through the Maine Political Report in your inbox or text messages from politics editor Kirby Wilson.
Standish residents will see three referendum questions and notable races for Maine House, Senate, governor and U.S. Senate on their November ballots.
Election Day voting will be held at the Standish Municipal Center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Absentee voting has already started, and voters can request a ballot online, in the town clerk’s office, by phone or mail before Oct. 29. There will be extended hours for in-person absentee voting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
MOBILE HOME PARK RENT CONTROL
Voters will decide whether to enact a mobile home park rent stabilization ordinance. If passed, the ordinance would limit how much mobile home park owners can raise rents each year. Several Maine towns have passed similar measures.
Residents of Pine Tree Estates this summer collected enough signatures on a citizen’s petition for the measure to appear on the ballot. The Standish Town Council also passed an emergency moratorium to temporarily enforce it before the election.
Pine Tree Estates is owned by RHP Properties, the largest private operator of manufactured home communities in the U.S., and has raised lot rents to rates residents say are unaffordable and threatening to their livelihoods. Opponents say the ordinance would negatively impact local mobile home park owners and that the town should avoid regulating private businesses.
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CHARTER AMENDMENTS
Two of the three referendums on the ballot will ask voters to weigh in on changes to the town’s charter.
The first change would reduce the number of meetings necessary for the Standish Town Council to adopt an ordinance from three to two. The charter requires a new ordinance to be introduced at one meeting, read at a second meeting, and undergo a public hearing and potential adoption at a third meeting. If voters approve the change, the proposed ordinance would instead be introduced at a first meeting, followed by a public hearing and potential adoption at the second.
Town Manager Tashia Pinkham said the change would increase efficiency. She said the town and local business have faced challenges completing tasks because of how long the current process takes.
Opponents at the public hearing for the measure said they think the three meetings are necessary to ensure residents have enough time to hear about and weigh in on possible ordinance changes.
Another charter amendment on the ballot would increase the total cost of the town’s capital expenditures requiring approval by referendum vote from $75,000 to $150,000. Public Works Director John Cross said it has been 18 years since that threshold was last increased.
MAINE SENATE & HOUSE
Standish voters will decide between Democratic candidate Nathan Burnett and Republican candidate and current Maine House District 85 Rep. Kimberly Pomerleau for Maine Senate District 22.
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Democratic candidate Cassandra Anne Dove is facing Republican Mark Walker in Maine House District 84, and Democratic candidate Paul Welch is up against Republican Adrienne Paul in Maine House District 85.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY RACES
Democrat Paul Aranson, of Scarborough, is running uncontested for Cumberland County judge of probate, as is incumbent Democrat Kevin Joyce for Cumberland County sheriff.
Incumbent Jacqueline Sartoris, of Brunswick, and challenger Stephanie Anderson, of Cape Elizabeth, are facing off for the District 2 Attorney seat.
Read more about candidates’ campaign goals on the Press Herald Voter Guide.
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Tagged: ballot question, election 2026, public service
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
