Secretary of State Matt Dunlap Announces Launch of Enhanced Online Absentee Ballot Request Service

AUGUSTA, Maine--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap today announces that the Online Absentee Ballot Request Service for the November General Election is now available at www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl.

The service has been enhanced to comply with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act enacted in Congress, and changes to state law that make it easier for all Maine citizens to submit electronic requests for an absentee ballot, regardless of whether they reside in Maine, are stationed in the military, or temporarily living in another country. Other changes in state law are aimed at improving delivery of absentee ballots to military members or voters living outside the U.S., who may be disenfranchised due to slow mail service. The Secretary of State has designed a new web page containing more information about this program: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter_info/uocava.htm.

Additionally, starting with the November 2, 2010 General Election, all Maine municipalities are required to accept electronic requests for absentee ballots. In prior elections, municipalities could opt to participate or not. Municipal clerks will process the requests and mail out absentee ballots when they become available.

Since the online service was first implemented in November 2008, usage by voters has grown significantly. In November 2009, an all time high of 10,301 absentee ballots were requested through the online system. During the June 2010 Primary Election, 1,776 voters from 217 municipalities requested absentee ballots using the online service.

The service allows any registered Maine voter to request their absentee ballot by:

Completing and submitting their request form online;
Filling out the request form online, then printing and signing the completed form to mail to their municipal clerk; or,
Printing a blank request form to fill out by hand and deliver to their municipal clerk.

The service is now available for voters to submit requests; however, ballots will not be sent out until 30 to 45 days before the election. Once a voter has submitted their request using the online service, they will be sent an automated email notification containing the information they submitted and a confirmation number. When the request is processed and accepted by their municipal clerk, they will be sent an additional status notification.

The service was created in partnership with InforME, the state’s eGovernment service provider.

About Maine.gov

Maine.gov is the official Web portal of the State of Maine and a repeat winner in the Center for Digital Government’s “Best of Web” competition. Maine.gov is a service of InforME, a collaborative effort between the State of Maine and Maine Information Network, LLC, part of the NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies.

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