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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 718
H.P. 457 House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Require Municipal Clerks to Issue Absentee Ballots Only
to Residents of That Municipality and to Eliminate Ongoing
Absentee Voter Status
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ADAMS of Lebanon.
Page 1 - 132LR0545(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §753-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 273, §13, is
3 further amended to read:
43. Request in writing. A voter may complete an application or make a written request
5 for the voter's own ballot by mail, in person or by facsimile. The voter may designate an
6 immediate family member or a 3rd person, if that immediate family member or 3rd person
7 is registered to vote in that municipality, to deliver the ballot on the voter's behalf. An
8 immediate family member of a voter may also make an application or written request for
9 an absentee ballot for the voter.
10 A. An application or a written request for an absentee ballot must be accepted by the
11 clerk if it contains the following information:
12 (1) The voter's name and date of birth;
13 (2) The voter's residence address or other address sufficient to identify the voter;
14 (3) The signature of the voter or the voter's immediate family member who is
15 making the application or written request. If an immediate family member is either
16 making the application or written request or is designated in the application or
17 written request to deliver or return the ballot to the voter, then the family
18 relationship to the voter must also be provided; and
19 (4) If applicable, a different address to which the applicant requests the ballot be
20 sent or delivered.
21 B. If the voter needs assistance pursuant to subsection 5, then in addition to the
22 information required in paragraph A, the following information must be provided in
23 order for the application or written request to be accepted by the clerk:
24 (1) The printed name and signature of the person who helped the voter; and
25 (2) A statement that the aide helped the voter by either reading or signing the
26 application, or both.
27 C. If the voter wishes to have the ballot delivered or returned by a 3rd person who is
28 registered to vote in that municipality, then in addition to the information required in
29 paragraph A, the following information must be provided in order for the application
30 or written request to be accepted by the clerk:
31 (1) The name of the 3rd person whom the voter has designated. A 3rd person may
32 only be designated only in an application or written request that is signed by the
33 voter.
34Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §753-A, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2023, c. 304, Pt. A, §24
35 and affected by §§37 and 39 and amended by c. 404, §1 and affected by §2, is repealed.
36Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §753-A, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. UUUU,
37 §4 and affected by PL 2023, c. 304, Pt. A, §37, is repealed.
38Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. UUUU,
39 §5 and affected by PL 2023, c. 304, Pt. A, §37, is further amended to read:
Page 2 - 132LR0545(01)
11. Issuance of absentee ballots. Upon receipt of an application or written request for
2 an absentee ballot from a person registered to vote in that municipality that is accepted
3 pursuant to section 753‑A, and after the official ballots become available, the clerk shall
4 immediately issue an absentee ballot and return envelope by mail or in person to the
5 applicant or to the immediate family member or to a 3rd person designated in a written
6 application or request made by the voter, except as provided in subsection 2. Upon receipt
7 of the official ballots, the clerk shall immediately issue an absentee ballot and return
8 envelope by mail to any voter who has qualified for ongoing absentee voter status under
9 section 753‑A, subsection 7. The clerk shall type or write in ink the name and the residence
10 address of the voter in the designated section of the return envelope. The clerk may not
11 make any mark visible on the outside of the return envelope for use in a general election
12 that indicates the political party of the voter to whom an absentee ballot is issued.
13Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§2, ¶D, as amended by PL 2023, c. 128, §1, is
14 further amended by amending subparagraph (4) to read:
15 (4) An incapacity or illness that has resulted in the voter's being unable to leave
16 home or a treatment facility or has resulted in the voter's caregiver's being unable
17 to attend the polls during the entire time the polls are open on election day; or
18Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§2, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 273, §19, is
19 amended to read:
20 E. To any candidate, except for the candidate's own ballot. ; or
21Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§2, ¶F is enacted to read:
22 F. To any voter, immediate family member or 3rd person who is not registered to vote
23 in that municipality.
24SUMMARY
25 This bill requires a municipal clerk to issue an absentee ballot only to a person who is
26 registered to vote in that municipality, including the voter and an immediate family member
27 or a 3rd person designated by the voter to deliver the ballot on the voter's behalf. It also
28 repeals the provisions allowing for application for ongoing absentee voter status.
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