FRANKLIN COUNTY – The Maine Presidential Primary elections will take place on Tuesday March 5, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. across the state.
This year Maine will use the Ranked Choice Voting system for the primary, meaning voters can rank candidates in order of preference. For the first time, the election will also use a Semi-Open Primary system, meaning someone enrolled in a specific party must vote in that party’s primary, but someone who has no political affiliation can vote in any party’s primary. Registered Democrats must vote in the Democratic primary and registered Republicans must vote in the Republican primary. Unregistered voters can choose to vote in either. The deadline to change party enrollment to vote in the primary was Friday, Feb. 16.
Of Maine’s four qualified parties, only the Democratic and Republican parties have Presidential candidates on the ballot. According to the Maine Secretary of State’s office, the Democratic candidates are Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Dean B. Phillips. The Republican candidates are Ryan Binkley, Ron DeSantis, Nikki R. Haley, Vivek G. Ramaswamy, and Donald J. Trump.
Absentee Ballots are currently available through town offices until Thursday, Feb. 29. Under special circumstances, one may meet a requirement to be eligible after this date. To receive an absentee ballot, one may call their local town office to request one in the mail, stop by to pick one up or to vote absentee in person, or request a ballot online.
Some towns across the state will be voting on local ballots as well as the primary ballot. In Franklin County, registered voters of Kingfield will also be offered a local ballot at the poles, regarding the Contract Zoning Application submitted by the Workforce Housing Coalition Western Maine Mountains. This question has no party affiliation requirement.
Carrabassett Valley will hold their municipal officer elections on March 5. Residents will vote on two selectboard seats, two sanitary district trustees, and one school committee member. Further articles will be voted on during the March 13 town meeting.
Similarly, the Town of Weld will hold their municipal officer elections on March 5 at the same time as the primary election, and the remainder of the town meeting warrant will be addressed on Saturday, March 9.
For more specific information on voting locally or to request an absentee ballot, please contact your town office.
Maine’s State Primary is in June, where state and county representatives can run on their party’s primary ballot to determine which candidates will appear on the ballot for the General Election in November.
