Overview
- Unofficial returns show Question 1 failing roughly 60% to 40%, with the race called on election night by the Bangor Daily News/Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press, pending certification.
- The initiative would have required photo ID to vote and tightened absentee rules by eliminating two voting days, limiting drop boxes to one per municipality, ending automatic absentee status for seniors and people with disabilities, and banning phone or family requests.
- Voters approved Question 2, establishing a court-driven extreme-risk protection process often referred to as a red-flag law.
- Opponents vastly out-raised supporters late in the campaign—about $1.6 million to under $60,000 after July 1—and benefited from nearly 145,000 absentee requests that leaned heavily Democratic.
- An investigation continues into dozens of unmarked ballots discovered in an Amazon package, with the secretary of state's law-enforcement division and the FBI involved.