Absentee / Early Voting

To request an absentee ballot:

  • Call the City Clerk's Office at 207-992-4220
  • Mail a written application to the City Clerk, 73 Harlow St. in Bangor
  • Visit the City Clerk's Office during regular business hours

To expedite your application, consider using the online absentee ballot application administered by the Secretary of State. Please note this service is available only to current registered voters. Accessible ballots for voters with a disability who have difficulty using a paper ballot are available through this link.

Deadline for requesting a no-reason absentee ballot is June 4, 2026.

To return the ballots, voters or immediate family member can drop them off in-person at City Hall, use the ballot drop-box outside City Hall, or send it through the mail (allow for 10 days to travel through the mail). All ballots must be received no later than 8 p.m. on June. 9, 2026.

Special Circumstance Absentee Ballot

If the deadline passes to receive an absentee ballot prior to an election, voters may request an absentee ballot by completing and signing a Special Circumstances Application.

On the application, the voter must indicate which of the four allowable reasons to request an absentee ballot after the deadline applies to them:

  • Unexpected absence from the municipality during the entire time the polls are open on Election Day
  • Physical disability
  • Incapacity or illness that has resulted in the voter being unable to leave home or a treatment facility
  • Inability to travel to the polls if the voter is a resident of a coastal island ward or precinct

Check the status of your absentee ballot request


Ongoing Absentee Ballot Status

Any voter other than a uniformed service or overseas voter may apply for ongoing absentee voter status. A voter who qualifies will automatically receive an absentee ballot for each statewide election, municipal election and any other election for which the voter is eligible to vote and need not submit a request for each election.

A voter applying for this status must do so in writing using the form designed by the Secretary of State and must originally sign the application and submit it to the City Clerk. The form may be obtained here or at the City Clerk's office. The voter must provide a telephone number and/or email address so that the voter can be notified if the voter's status is terminated. 

Ongoing Absentee Voter status may only be terminated by the City Clerk or Secretary of State based on one of the following reasons:

  1. The voter requests in writing that the Ongoing Absentee Voter status be terminated
  2. The voter dies or becomes disqualified
  3. The voter's registration record is cancelled in the central voter registration (CVR) system
  4. The voter's absentee ballot is returned as undeliverable or
  5. The voter's registration status is changed to inactive in the CVR because the voter failed to respond to a change of address mailing. If the voter moves to a new municipality in Maine, the voter's Ongoing Absentee Voter status is terminated, and the voter must submit a new application to the voter's new residence municipality.