Governor Janet Mills filled out her absentee ballot at the Farmington Town Office on Monday, October 19. Mills urged Mainers to cast their ballots early saying that most people have made up their minds by now as to which candidates they are voting for. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal
FARMINGTON — Governor Janet Mills turned in her absentee ballot at the Farmington Town Office on Monday, Oct. 19, wearing a mask with the Maine state flag.
“We’ve done everything we could within existing law, within existing framework to make a polling place like this one a safe place to be, a safe place to cast your ballot,” Mills said.
The Farmington Town Office has 6 foot spacing reminders on the floor, Plexiglass shields at counters and signs encouraging people to wear face coverings.
The Governor also said that town clerks will have up to a week ahead of time to begin tabulating ballots to prepare for potentially 57% of Mainers voting by absentee ballots.
“So that gives them extra time to deal with the numbers that will be coming over that last week before the election and that last weekend in particular,” Mills said outside of the Farmington Town Office. “Many clerks’ offices are staying open longer hours. Some of them are staying open on Saturday.”
“People should understand whatever the press is about other states, what’s going on in other states, Maine is running smoothly at this time and we expect and want it to run smoothly right up until the final count, the final ballot,” Governor Janet Mills said after casting her ballot in Farmington on Monday, October 19. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal
In regards to rumored voter fraud through absentee ballots, Gov. Mills assured voters that Maine has no record of such allegations through mail-in voting.
“There’s been no evidence of voting fraud. One of the former secretaries of state made that allegation. There was a whole study, it came up with nothing,” Mills said. “Our clerks, our people are of high integrity, high efficiency, intelligence. They know what to question, what not to question and there will be people from both parties, all parties, keeping their eyes on the polls, keeping their eyes on the system and the process. Maine has an excellent record when it comes to integrity, when it comes to counting every ballot and avoiding any semblance of fault.”
Before leaving the town office, Mills reminded residents that they can still register to vote on election day in Maine.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.