The 2018 General Election will be held on November 6. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tiger Gym at Biddeford High School on Maplewood Avenue, regardless of ward.
You can review a sample ballot for the election by clicking here.
The City Clerk’s Office is offering extended hours on Thursday, November 1, 2018 to help prepare for the general election. The office will be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. for absentee voting, acceptance
of new voter registrations, and change of name and/or address. Please use the Main Street entrance to City Hall if you arrive after 5 p.m.
If you are planning on voting absentee, you must do so on or before November 1, 2018.
Ranked-Choice Voting
The November 6, 2018 General Election will be conducted using a system of ranked-choice voting for the offices of U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress. Ranked-choice voting, sometimes called “instant run-off voting,” allows voters to choose their candidates in order of preference by marking candidates as their first choice, second choice, third choice, etc. The votes are counted in rounds, with the lowest-ranked candidates eliminated in each round until there are only two candidates left. The person who is determined to have received the majority of the votes (more than 50%) in the final round is declared the winner. It is different from our previous method of voting, in which voters choose only one candidate for each office and the winner is determined by plurality (whoever gets the most votes).
Biddeford voters will use ranked-choice voting in the following two races:
The U.S. Senate race
- Eric Brakey (R)
- Angus King (I)
- Zak Ringelstein (D)
The U.S. Congressional District 1 race:
- Martin Grohman (I)
- Mark Holbrook (R)
- Chellie Pingree (D)
Ranked-choice voting will NOT be used to select Maine’s governor.
This slideshow shows several examples of how your ballot could be filled out and how it will be counted under ranked choice voting.
How can I register to vote?
You can register to vote at the City Clerk’s Office on the ground floor of City Hall during normal business hours. There is no cutoff date for registering to vote.
What House District and Ward do I live in?
Please refer to this document. Once you find your address on the document, you can find your ward in the”Ward/Precinct” column and your House District in the column titled “SR”.