The number of people voting by absentee ballot in Maine is on track to exceed numbers from the last major election in 2022, when Maine had the highest overall voter turnout in the nation.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Maine voters had requested 192,175 absentee ballots and 75,352 had been returned and accepted. At the same point in time in 2022 – three weeks before Election Day – voters had requested 139,285 ballots and 50,482 had been returned and accepted.

The absentee ballot numbers include people who vote by mail and those who vote in-person at municipal offices before Election Day. Early in-person voting started last week at a robust pace. As of Friday afternoon, roughly 19,500 people had cast their ballots in-person.

Joe Falcone casts his ballot in the State of Maine room at Portland City Hall earlier this month. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Interest in absentee voting is by far strongest among Democrats, which follows a pattern established in recent election cycles.

Of the 192,175 requests for ballots, 47.6% or 91,509 are from registered Democrats, while 22.2% or 42,702 ballot requests are from Republicans and 26.2% or 50,344 are from unenrolled voters. The remaining requests came from voters registered as Green Independent, Libertarian and No Labels.

The absentee voting numbers, if they carry into Election Day, indicate Maine could exceed its highest-in-the nation voter turnout two years ago.

Maine saw a total of 236,977 people cast absentee ballots in 2022, when the last gubernatorial election was a big draw for voters. When all ballots were counted in November 2022, voters in Maine turned out at a higher rate than in any other state, with a 61.8% turnout among citizens of voting age and 73.3% turnout among active registered voters, according to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State. Maine has about 955,300 active registered voters statewide.

The strong interest in absentee voting this year also comes as new voter registrations have surged in Maine.

This is the first year Maine has offered online voter registration. The new online system has fueled at least some of the surge in voter registrations, but officials say enthusiasm about the Nov. 5 election is also likely playing a part.

There have been more than 33,000 new voter registrations so far this year, including more than 10,000 in September alone. And more than 7,300 people used the online system last week to register for the first time or update existing registrations.

Tuesday is the last day for Maine voters to use the state’s online service to register to vote or update their voter registration before the November election.

Starting Wednesday, residents who want to register or change their registrations will have to go to their local municipal offices or register at their polling places on Nov. 5. Maine is one of 23 states that allows same-day voter registration, which means voters can register and cast a ballot at the same time.

Tuesday also was the deadline for mailed-in voter registrations to be received by municipal clerks, so it is already too late to put a registration form in the mail. Automatic voter registration during Bureau of Motor Vehicle transactions is available through Oct. 29.

The online service and mail-in registration close earlier than in-person registration because the online process still requires additional work on the clerk’s end to confirm that the voter’s name and address match with Bureau of Motor Vehicle or Social Security records and to allow time for any follow-up needed.

To register to vote in Maine, voters must be Maine residents, U.S. citizens, and at least 16 years old, although only Mainers who will be 18 years old on or before Nov. 5 may vote in the General Election this year. When registering for the first time, voters must provide proof of residency and identity.

A total of 514,429 absentee ballots were returned and accepted in the last presidential election in 2020, when an unprecedented number of people utilized absentee voting due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2016, 249,369 people voted absentee.