Can you vote in Maine without an ID? | Fact brief

Maine doesn’t require registered voters to show ID at the polls. Voters state their name and home address, and an election clerk checks the voting list. 

People registering on Election Day must provide proof of identity and residency. Those without it may cast a challenged ballot, which is counted normally but may be reviewed if it could affect the result.

Maine voters rejected a 2025 referendum proposing photo ID and absentee-voting restrictions.

As of September, 36 states requested or required voter ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Fourteen of them required voters without acceptable ID to take additional steps for provisional ballots to count. The other 22 allowed alternatives that require no follow-up.

Researchers from the center-left Brookings Institution found 36 documented fraud cases in Arizona over 25 years, compared with 42.6 million ballots cast, using records from the right-leaning Heritage Foundation.