The Maine Legislature adjourned its 2026 regular session on April 29 after enacting two election-related bills, both of which were signed by Gov. Janet Mills (D). 

One of those bills was LD 2000, which requires party committees to report all expenditures made to influence a campaign. It also changes various thresholds for when candidates must report contributions made after the 14th day before any election and more than 48 hours before 11:59 p.m. on the day of any election.

LD 2000 was passed by the state House on March 24, and the state Senate passed it the next day. Mills signed the bill on April 3.

Also enacted was LD 1741, which requires a chief deputy serving as acting sheriff in certain vacancy situations to be considered for appointment as sheriff if the chief deputy is enrolled in the same political party as the sheriff whose term is vacant. 

Lawmakers in both the Maine House of Representatives and the state Senate approved LD 1666, which would require the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) for general and special elections for governor and the state legislature. But the Senate did not advance the bill to Mills’ desk and instead sought an advisory opinion from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on whether the proposal was constitutional.

The state supreme court ruled that LD 1666 would violate the state constitution, as it conflicts with a constitutional requirement that the candidate who receives a plurality of the votes be declared the winner. 

As a result, legislators did not advance LD 1666 to Mills’ desk. Maine continues to use RCV for primaries for governor and the state legislature, as well as for primaries and general elections for Congress and the presidency. 

Maine enacted 10 election-related bills in 2025, two in 2024, and 16 in 2023.