Maine voters are turning out in huge numbers. Will Democrats keep their edge?
Voters line up for in-person early absentee voting in the State of Maine Room at Portland City Hall on Oct. 20. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
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.
Early voting turnout in Maine will soon soar past recent midterm elections, the latest state numbers show — and Democrats continue to dominate those numbers.
Hotly contested elections for Senate, House and governor could hinge on partisan turnout, with polls showing that relatively few voters remain undecided.
Thursday is the final day Mainers can vote early in-person or request an absentee ballot, and those ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Maine voters can track the status of their absentee ballot at absenteeballotrequest.sos.maine.gov.
Related
Early voting for the November election is underway in Maine. Here’s how to do it
Here’s how early voting is going, as of Tuesday — one week from the election.
OVERALL TURNOUT
Municipal clerks around the state had accepted nearly 222,000 ballots so far. Using the Maine Secretary of State’s most recent count, that adds up to about one-quarter of Maine’s registered voters. About 48,000 voters have requested absentee ballots but have yet to return them.
That means absentee turnout is up by about 32% over the most recent midterm in 2022. A week before that election, the state had accepted about 168,000 ballots.
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If absentee turnout continues at the same pace as it did in that midterm election, with the biggest turnout days at the end of early voting, absentee totals would likely end up above 310,000.
Compared to this point in the 2024 presidential election, Maine’s highest-ever turnout election, absentee vote totals are down just 20%.
PARTIES
Democrats continue to dominate early voting, with about half of those who have cast a ballot so far being registered to that party.
This follows the conventional political wisdom, and data in other states, that Democrats vote early, while Republicans tend to vote on Election Day. About 36% of registered Democrats have cast their ballot so far, while only 18% of Republicans have.
Related
From earlier this month: Democrats dominating Maine early voting so far
But in the past week and a half of absentee voting, Republicans have picked up a small bit of ground. Now, about 22% of voters who have returned their absentee ballots are registered Republicans — similar to this point in 2022.
Much has changed since 2014, the last election when Republican Sen. Susan Collins topped the ballot in a Maine midterm, but Republicans have a slightly higher margin of absentee votes than they did in that election.
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Unaffiliated voters make up more than a quarter of votes cast; which way these voters break could determine who wins Maine’s key races.
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
Maine’s 2nd congressional district is expected to be much more politically competitive, but the Democratic-leaning 1st District is continuing to dominate early turnout so far.
About 61% of early votes have come from the southern Maine district, a greater share than at this point in 2022 and 2024.
The 1st district’s House member, Rep. Chellie Pingree, is running for a 10th term in Congress this year and is widely expected to ease past her opponent, Republican Ron Russell. Enthusiastic turnout in the district is likely not driven by that election, but by the two statewide races on the ballot.
In the 2nd district, where former Gov. Paul LePage is trying to mount a political comeback against Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap, early turnout doesn’t look particularly promising for Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden won that district in a tight race two years ago. At this point in 2024, 33% of early voters in that district were Republicans. So far, just 27% of early votes have come from that party.
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Tagged: 2nd Congressional District, absentee voting, election 2026, maine politics, senate 2026, Susan Collins, Troy Jackson
Ethan reports on cost of living for the Portland Press Herald. Before he joined in mid-2026, he covered local news in Augusta and surrounding areas and ran a weekly newsletter for the Kennebec Journal. More by Ethan Horton
