Cara Brown McCormick
On June 9, 2026, Maine voters will select their preferred candidates using ranked choice voting, which was adopted by voters on November 8, 2016, under Question 5.
If you are a citizen of the United States and a resident of Maine when you are in the United States, you have a right to vote in Maine on June 9.
Even those not enrolled in a political party, have the right to vote in the primary election on June 9. This is because Maine adopted semi-open primaries in 2021 and first used them in 2024.
Under this primary system, voters registered with a party have to vote in their party's primary. However, independent voters can pick a single party's primary ballot without joining that party.
In-person voter registration is available up to and including Election Day.
How Does Ranking Work?
Here is the explanation from the May 19 League of Women Voters of Maine newsletter:
Voters rank candidates in the order of their preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
When all the ballots are counted, if one candidate gets more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they win.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is considered defeated.
Voters who ranked the defeated candidate as their first choice have their votes counted for their second choice.
This is repeated until a candidate has received more than 50% of the vote.
Why Should You Rank Your Vote?
If your first choice is defeated, your ballot will still count for your next highest choice.
You can’t hurt your favorite candidate by also ranking the other candidates. Those choices only count if your first choice is defeated.
You can’t help your favorite candidate by ranking only one candidate.
Your first choice will always count if your favorite candidate has not been defeated.