Yes.
Out-of-state college students attending school in Maine can register and vote if they meet voter eligibility and residency requirements.
Students can establish voting residency at their college address. Paying out-of-state tuition does not disqualify students from registering to vote in Maine.
To qualify, students must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old by Election Day and have established a voting residence in the municipality where they register. Students registering in Maine must also provide proof of residency to their municipal clerk.
Registering to vote in Maine establishes a student’s residence, meaning they cannot also vote in their home state in the same election. Students may vote in their home state in future elections if they reestablish voting residency there.
Students who maintain voting residency in another state may instead vote by absentee ballot in that state.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
This Fact Brief was produced by students from the Maine Campus, the campus newspaper of the University of Maine, with guidance from journalists at the Maine Trust for Local News. The Maine Trust for Local News partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources:
- Maine Secretary of State: Maine Voting Residence Fact Sheet
- State of Maine: Maine Voter Information Lookup Service
- Maine Legislature: Title 21-A, 112, Residence for voting purposes
- National Conference of State Legislatures: Double Voting Defined
- United States Election Assistance Commission: Register and Vote in Your State
