AUGUSTA, MAINE — Maine election officials are preparing for an unusually large federal presence ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election, updating law-enforcement training and emphasizing restrictions designed to prevent voter intimidation or interference at polling places.
The Justice Department plans to send election monitors to Portland, Lewiston and South Portland as part of a nationwide deployment of roughly 1,000 monitors. DOJ officials say the monitors will observe for potential violations of federal law, take notes and report concerns, but will not interact with voters or interfere with voting.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Maine will enforce state rules governing observers. Training materials distributed to law enforcement also cite federal statutes restricting armed federal civil or military officers from polling locations.
Concerns intensified after complaints that individuals were aggressively filming and questioning voters near an early-voting location in Lewiston. Bellows said voters should be able to cast ballots without being watched, questioned or harassed because of their race or ethnicity.
Federal election monitoring itself is not unprecedented. Bellows noted that monitors were present during Maine’s 2024 congressional elections and said similar observers will be deployed across all 50 states this year. She said properly conducted monitoring should not affect voters’ experience.
The heightened preparations come as Maine hosts competitive U.S. Senate and House races that could affect control of Congress.
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