MAINE, Maine — Voters in Maine will head to the polls Tuesday, June 14, for primaries and several other local elections.
The race for congress in the second district is getting a lot of attention, with former congressman Bruce Poliquin facing off against Liz Caruso for the Republican nomination. The Republican winner will later face Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and Independent Tiffany Bond in November's general election.
Another high-profile race is the election of a Democrat who will represent the Cumberland County district attorney's office. Jaqueline Sartoris and District Attorney Jonathan Sharbeck are facing off against each other. No Republicans are running in the Cumberland County district attorney race.
Tuesday's primary elections are mostly for voters who are registered as Republicans or Democrats in the state of Maine. Depending on where you live, there may be several local elections, such as spots for city council and school board that people can vote on regardless of their party affiliations.
In 2024, a new semi-open primary law in Maine will go into effect.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Chloe Maxmin will allow unenrolled Mainers to cast their ballot in primary elections without joining a party.
"Seventy percent of our races in Maine are essentially decided in the primary, and a third of voters are paying for these elections but they are registered independent so they can't vote in them. That's going to change in 2024," Maxmin said.
Maxmin said the goal is to increase accessibility to primary elections.
"I think it's necessary because we live in a time where our democracy is really fragile, and I think we need to do everything that we can to increase access to our voting process. So in a state like Maine, where we have so many independent voters and are not allowed to participate to our crucial primaries, ... that is really detrimental to our democracy," she said.
It's too late to request an absentee ballot, but you can vote in person at your local polling place on Tuesday. Most polling locations in Maine open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Click here for a list of municipal clerks and office numbers.
Click here for more details on Maine's primary elections.