The hotly contested presidential election will be the top draw for voters casting their ballots on Election Day. But there are equally important races down the ballot that could greatly affect the lives of Mainers, ranging from congressional elections to local council and school board races.

On Nov. 5, ballots also will be cast in races for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats and both of its seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of the closest House races in the nation is happening in the 2nd Congressional District.

All 186 seats in the Maine Legislature are up for grabs, and voters will weigh in on three bond questions and two other ballot questions, including whether the official state flag should be changed to look more like the simpler, original version from 1901.

Local communities will elect city and town councilors and school board members, and vote in municipal referendums.

Here’s what you need to know before you head to the polls on Tuesday.

• What time do polls open and close?
• What if I’m waiting in line when polls close?
• Can I still register to vote?
• How do I find my polling place?
• Can I check to see if my absentee ballot has been accepted?
• Who is on Maine’s presidential ballot?
• What are the referendum and bond questions?
• What are some other key races to watch?
• Will ranked choice voting be used?
• Can campaigns try to influence my vote at the polls?
• Can I wear campaign merchandise to the polls?
• Can I take photos and videos at a polling location?
• What if I experience or witness concerning behavior at the polls?
• When will we know the results?

What time do polls open and close?

Many polling locations open at 7 a.m., but opening time varies from town to town, especially in smaller communities, so check with your local town office. Polling locations must open by 8 a.m., except in communities with fewer than 500 residents, which can open as late as 10 a.m. State law requires polls to close at 8 p.m., except in communities with fewer than 100 people, which can close after all registered voters have cast their ballots.

Will there be lines?

Election officials are expecting a large turnout on Election Day because of the strong interest in the presidential race as well as local races and ballot questions. Some communities have arranged for extra staff, and Portland’s city clerk has asked voters to be patient at the polls.

Election officials in Maine have plenty of experience with high-turnout elections, however, and lines tend to move efficiently. The best way to avoid waiting in line is to vote in the morning or early afternoon, as the crowds tend to get larger after voters get out of work.

What if I’m waiting in line when polls close?

If you are standing in line to vote when your polling location is scheduled to close, you are still entitled to vote, so stay in line until you cast your ballot. Election officials will not let additional people into the voting line after polls close, but they will allow people who were in line before official closing time to cast their ballots.

Can I still register to vote?

Yes, you can still register to vote in person at your town office, city hall or polling location, although the deadlines to register online or by mail have passed.

Maine has same-day voter registration, so you can register at your polling place right before you cast a ballot.

In order to vote, you must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and registered to vote in the community where you reside in Maine.

If you’re registering to vote for the first time in Maine, you will need to show proof of identity, such as a driver’s license or passport, and residency. Residency can be documented a number of ways, including with personal documents such as a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck, or with a driver’s license, motor vehicle registration, or hunting or fishing license.

Details are available on the website of the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.

How do I find my polling place? 

Every town and city has designated polling locations on Election Day. Voters can find their polling place and electoral district by calling their city or town hall, or by searching online through the Maine Voter Information Lookup Service.

The same link will allow you to see what races and candidates will be on your ballot when you go to the polls.

Can I check to see if my absentee ballot has been accepted? 

Yes. Voters can track the status of their absentee ballot request and their ballot online via a service provided by the secretary of state. Upon receipt of an absentee ballot, a municipal clerk will examine the signature of the voter on the envelope and may compare it to the signature on their voter registration file.

The outcome of the clerk’s inspection of the envelope is noted in the tracker, and a voter can see if their ballot has been accepted or rejected. Clerks will try to contact voters if required information is missing or their signatures don’t match. If a voter’s ballot is rejected, they would be able to cast a different ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters whose ballots have not been returned and accepted by their municipal clerk by Election Day have the option to go to the polls and request that their absentee ballot be canceled and that they be reissued a new ballot.

What if I haven’t returned my absentee ballot yet?

Absentee ballots must be received by a municipality by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.

It is too late to rely on the U.S. mail to deliver ballots in time.

At this point, absentee ballots should be hand-delivered to your town office or placed in a secure ballot drop box, if your community offers that option. You must still place your ballot in the absentee ballot envelope and sign and seal it.

If you requested an absentee ballot and lost it, you should vote in person on Election Day.

Who is on Maine’s presidential ballot? 

Maine’s presidential ballot includes Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance, Libertarians Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat, Green Independents Jill Stein and Rudolph Ware, and Cornel West and Melina Abdullah, who are unenrolled in Maine but are part of the Justice for All party.

Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be on Maine’s ballot. Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, officially withdrew in August after Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

What are the referendum and bond questions? 

There are five statewide referendums and bond questions.

Question 1 asks voters if they want to set a limit of $5,000 for contributions to political action committees. The ballot question was brought forward by campaign finance reform activists seeking to limit the influence of outside groups.

Question 5 asks whether voters favor making the former state flag – replaced as the official flag of the state in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag – the official flag of the state once again.

The bond questions, Questions 2, 3 and 4, ask voters to consider $25 million to support research and development in areas including life sciences, renewable energy and agriculture, $10 million to restore historic buildings owned by government and nonprofit organizations across the state, and $30 million to invest in the development and maintenance of trails statewide.

Read more on each of the referendum and bond questions here:

• Question 1: Capping contributions to certain political action committees
• Question 2: A $25 million research-and-development bond
• Question 3: A $10 million bond for historic buildings
• Question 4: A $30 million bond to repair and restore trails
• Question 5: At long last, Mainers could vote for a new state flag

What are some other key races to watch? 

U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is seeking a third term in the Senate. King is facing challenges from Demi Kouzounas, a Republican and former chair of the Maine Republican Party, Democrat David Costello and independent Jason Cherry, of Unity. King was reelected with 53% of the vote in a three-way race in 2018.

In Maine’s 1st Congressional District, Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, is being challenged by Kennebunkport Republican Ron Russell, a political newcomer and retired U.S. Army veteran, and independent Ethan Alcorn, of Saco. Pingree is seeking a ninth term in office in a district that skews heavily toward Democrats.

The 2nd Congressional District race is the most competitive of the congressional races in Maine, featuring Rep. Jared Golden, a Lewiston Democrat, and Austin Theriault, a first-term Republican state representative from Fort Kent. Golden is a three-term incumbent but is battling to retain his seat in a district that gave one of Maine’s electoral votes to Donald Trump in each of the last two presidential races. The race has broader implications for the balance of power in the U.S. House as it is being eyed by Republicans as a key seat to flip.

In Portland, voters will cast ballots in three City Council and three school board races. There also are city referendums that would amend the list of information required to register short-term rental units and amend the city’s hazard pay policy to take effect only when the city, and not the state, declares a state of emergency.

Communities across the state also are electing municipal and school office holders and deciding on major capitol projects, such as new schools or athletic facilities.

Will ranked choice voting be used?

Ranked choice voting will be used in federal races with three or more candidates and for municipal races in Portland and Westbrook, which have adopted the voting method for council and school board races.

Maine’s constitution prohibits the use of ranked choice voting for state-level offices, such as for governor, state Senate or the state House.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank the candidates in their order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the second choices on those ballots are reallocated to the remaining candidates. That process continues until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.

Can campaigns try to influence my vote at the polls?

No. Maine law prohibits campaigns from advertising or trying to influence voters on public property within a 250-foot radius of the polling location entrance. That includes the placement of campaign signs; the display or distribution of palm cards, stickers, buttons or badges; and the use of sound equipment or any other advertising medium.

These restrictions do not apply to advertising material on vehicles traveling to or from the voting place for the sole purposes of voting.

Can I wear campaign merchandise to the polls?

A voter may wear a campaign button that is no bigger than 3 inches around while in the process of casting a ballot.

Election workers, poll watchers, signature gatherers and others in attendance at the polls for purposes other than voting may not wear apparel that names candidates or explicitly or implicitly expresses support of or opposition to a candidate or issue on the ballot that year.

Voters are also subject to these restrictions. An election administrator may ask a voter to remove a hat or cover up a T-shirt.

Anyone, including a voter, who is asked to remove apparel or other advertising or who is asked to exit a voting place by a warden must do so, as the warden is the presiding officer at the voting place.

Can I take photos and videos at a polling location?

These activities are allowed outside of the guardrail where voters are marking and casting their ballots, as long as the person is not recording within 15 feet of a voter. Individuals may take a selfie that includes their own marked ballot, but they cannot photograph somebody else’s marked ballot.

What if I experience or witness concerning behavior at the polls?

Voters who experience or witness problems or concerning behavior at polling a location are encouraged to report those incidents to the secretary of state by calling 207-626-8400. That phone line will be staffed until after polls close on Election Day.

When will we know the results?

News organizations, such as The Associated Press and Portland Press Herald, will be collating unofficial election results from the hundreds of municipalities across the state on election night. But there can often be a delay in receiving comprehensive results, since some smaller communities still hand-count their ballots.

Municipalities have up to two days to report their certified results to the Elections Division of the secretary of state’s office. State law gives the secretary of state up to 20 days to tabulate the election results and submit a certified copy to the the governor, at which point they are considered final, unless any recounts remain pending.

If any ranked choice race requires an instant runoff, paper ballots and memory sticks from voting tabulators will be collected and brought to Augusta by law enforcement for final tabulations, a process that is open to the public and will be streamed online.

In 2022, the winner of the 2nd Congressional District race was determined by an instant runoff vote on Nov. 16 – just over a week after Election Day. The 2018 instant runoff took a similar amount of time.