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The last day for Mainers to vote early in person for next Tuesday’s general election is Halloween.The deadline for voters to cast an absentee ballot in the presence of a municipal clerk is 5 p.m. Thursday, unless special circumstances exist.Any registered voter in Maine may cast an absentee ballot instead of voting in person at their polling place on Election Day. Voters do not need to have a specific reason or be unable to vote at the polls on Nov. 5 in order to receive an absentee ballot.People who cannot make it to their local clerk’s office by Thursday’s 5 p.m. deadline can also still cast their absentee ballot either through the mail or by dropping off either in person or via absentee ballot drop box at their clerk’s office. In order to be counted, absentee ballots must be received by a municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. People who wish to send their absentee ballots back by U.S. Mail were advised to send their ballot no later than seven business days before Election Day.Maine has an absentee ballot tracking system that shows voters the date their application was accepted by their municipal clerk, the date their clerk mailed out their absentee ballot and the date the clerk received the ballot. Click here to check the status of your absentee ballot.Requesting an absentee ballotMaine citizens who are registered to vote may use the state’s free online absentee ballot request service by clicking here.Election officials encouraged voters to make their absentee ballot request early in order to allow enough time for the ballot to be mailed to them. Voters who plan to use the U.S. Mail to receive their absentee ballot should have made the request no later than 15 days prior to Election Day.Voters can also call the municipal clerk in the town or city where they are registered to vote to request an absentee ballot. Uniformed Service and Overseas voters must request an absentee ballot directly from the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections.In addition, voters can make a written request by completing an absentee ballot application, which are mailed out by election officials or can be downloaded by clicking here. An absentee ballot can also be obtained for an immediate family member in the same way.Mainers have been able to request absentee ballots since early August. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is also at 5 p.m. Thursday.There are five allowable reasons for requesting an absentee ballot after the deadline, which are the following:An unexpected absence from the municipality during the entire time the polls are open on Election Day;A physical or mental disability;An inability to travel to the polls if the voter is a resident of an island ward or precinct;An incapacity or illness that has resulted in the voter being unable to leave home or a treatment facility; orBeing a caregiver who is unable to attend the polls due to the incapacity or illness of another person.A voter facing any of these scenarios must complete and sign a special circumstances application, which can be obtained from their municipal clerk or the Maine Secretary of State’s Office.For more information, check out the Maine’s Total Coverage voter guide.How officials prevent people from voting twiceWhen a voter casts an absentee ballot in the state of Maine, their municipal clerk will receive the ballot and verify that it can be accepted. Once the clerk does so, they will mark the voter’s name in the voter system as “AV” for “absentee voter.” So when the incoming voter list is printed just before Election Day, voters whose absentee ballots have been received will be checked off the list, and they will not be eligible to receive a ballot if they show up to vote in person.Officials also said that on Election Day, some voters are still dropping off their absentee ballots, and the offices of municipal clerks are still receiving some by mail. Absentee ballots are processed in batches throughout the day, and the list of those newly received ballots is then shared with each polling place for each batch. Therefore, if an absentee voter tries to vote in person, they will not be able to do so.Conversely, if a voter who submitted an absentee ballot votes in person before their absentee ballot arrives at their municipal clerk’s office, their absentee ballot will be rejected.Related content: