Voting & Elections

November 7, 2023 Election

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2023 for the Municipal and Referendum Election. Learn more about voter information and what will be on the municipal and referendum ballots. See the Town Clerk's Elections page for information related to absentee ballots and early voting. See the 2023 Voter Guide special edition newsletter, sent to newsletter subscribers on October 19 (Click Here to sign up for our Town Newsletter).

On the Ballot

There will be two ballots: 1 State Ballot (two-sided) and 1 Municipal Ballot (one-sided). Be sure to double check when voting that you have voted on both sides of the ballots.

View State ballot

View Municipal ballot

(municipal) Referendum question 1: Scarborough public schools building PROJECT

Shall the Order entitled "ORDER AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF UP TO $160,000,000 IN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OF THE TOWN OF SCARBOROUGH TO FUND COSTS FOR A NEW UNIFIED K-3 SCHOOL AND RENOVATIONS TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL" be approved?

Explanation and Recommendations: Approval of this Order would authorize the issuance of up to $160,000,000 in general obligation bonds of the Town to provide funds for the purchase of land, off-site improvements and to construct and equip a new Unified K-3 Primary School and renovations to the Middle School to execute the K-8 Strategic Facilities Project.

A property currently valued at $400k will be taxed an estimated $16,588 over the term of the bonds, averaging $488 per year.

The Town Council and Board of Education recommend approval of this question.

View Financial Statement on Sample Ballot

Background:
"The K-8 Strategic Project & New Primary School project is a holistic strategic solution for our K-8 schools to solve facilities inadequacies and inefficiencies by reorganizing grade levels, aligning our student populations, and building a new consolidated primary school that addresses educational equity, operational efficiency, population growth, flexibility, safety & security, and 21st century learning and teaching methods." —Statement from the Building Steering Committee on the Scarborough Public Schools website

LEARN MORE

(municipal) CANDIDATES

Candidates that will appear on the November 7th Municipal Ballot:

Town Council (3 Seats)

Anderson, Jonathan E.
Caterina, Jean-Marie
Cushing, Jr., Donald W.
Doherty, Scott W.

View current councilors on our Town Council page.

Sanitary District Trustees (3 Seats)

Greenleaf, Jason A.
McDougal, Benjamin T.
Summers, Ruth A.

Portland Water District Trustees (1 Seat)

Crockett, Leroy P.
Pellenz, Nicole M.

Candidates' Night
Thursday, October 12
6:30pm
Council Chambers, Scarborough Town Hall

Meet the candidates ahead of the election by viewing our annual Candidates’ Night, sponsored by the Scarborough Community Chamber of Commerce with Kevin Freeman as moderator.

Watch on YouTube

State of Maine Referendum Election

Questions Appearing on the November 7, 2023 Ballot

Question 1: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to bar some quasi-governmental entities and all consumer-owned electric utilities from taking on more than $1 billion in debt unless they get statewide voter approval?

Question 2: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to ban foreign governments and entities that they own, control, or influence from making campaign contributions or financing communications for or against candidates or ballot questions?

Question 3: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?

Question 4: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to owners and independent repair facilities?

Question 5: Constitutional Amendment
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the time period for judicial review of the validity of written petitions from within 100 days from the date of filing to within 100 business days from the date of filing of a written petition in the office of the Secretary of State, with an exception for petitions filed within 30 calendar days before or after a general election?

Question 6: Constitutional Amendment
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State?

Question 7: Constitutional Amendment
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision requiring a circulator of a citizen's initiative or people's veto petition to be a resident of Maine and a registered voter in Maine, requirements that have been ruled unconstitutional in federal court?

Question 8: Constitutional Amendment
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?

View the Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election (State of Maine)

Prepare to Vote

REGISTER TO VOTE

Voter registration is available for new voters or for existing Scarborough voters to change their address or name at Town Hall during regular business hours. Residents are encouraged to update their voter registration information or register to vote with the Town Clerk's office prior to Election Day to help reduce lines. View more Town Clerk election information.

What to Bring:

Government-issued ID
Something with your Scarborough address, if your ID does not have it

Please Note: 21 days prior to the Election is called the “closed period”, at which point residents who register to vote must do so in person in the Town Clerk's Office. The “closed period” starts Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

Find out more on Voter Registration on the Secretary of State's webpage.

ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUESTS

Request your absentee ballot by completing an application either in-person or online: Print and complete the form, then mail it to the Scarborough Town Clerk's Office at P.O. Box 360, Scarborough, ME 04070-0360 or fill out the e‑form request. Absentee ballots will be mailed when they are available. For further information on absentee voting and voter registration, please contact the Scarborough Town Clerk's Office at 730-4020.

Request your absentee ballot by November 2. You can drop off your completed ballot anytime in our secure Drop Box outside of the Town Hall entrance. Or, drop it off inside during business hours.

EARLY VOTING

Vote at Town Hall, Monday-Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., from Tuesday, October 10 through Thursday, November 2.

ELECTION DAY

Election Day is on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Voting will take place at the Scarborough High School, located at 11 Municipal Drive from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

View our Elections page.

2022 Election

2022 Election

November 8, 2022 Election

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022 for the Municipal and Referendum Election, and the State of Maine General Election. Learn more about voter information and what will be on the municipal and referendum ballots.

View Election Results

On the Ballot

There will be 4 ballots: 1 State General Election Ballot, 1 Municipal General/Referendum Election Ballot and 2 Municipal Charter Ballots. All ballots will be two-sided. Be sure to double check when voting that you have voted on both sides of the ballots. Click Here to view sample ballots.

Charter Amendments

Within our Town Charter—the legally document defining the essential functions and procedures of our town—is a section titled Charter Review: “At least once every ten (10) years the Town Council shall appoint a committee to review the provisions of this Charter and make recommendations to the Town Council on any amendments deemed necessary or appropriate.”

On January 22, 2020 the Town Council voted unanimously to charge the Rules and Policies Committee with “develop[ing] a proposed action plan for the Council to follow in order to execute a charter review.” An Ad-Hoc Charter Review Committee was subsequently formed and held its first meeting held on January 12, 2021.

The committee held discussions over the course of several months and completed its work in July 2021. The Town Council was provided with the proposed amendments from the committee review period over the past year as follows:

Final Report to the Town Council: July 21, 2021.
Town Council Workshop: June 15 and 29, 2022.
First reading before the Town Council: August 17, 2022.
Public Hearing and second reading before the Town Council: September 7, 2022

The proposed amendments to the Town Charters must be voted on in a referendum.

There are seven total referendum questions on the November 2022 ballot. Proposed amendments include:

Increase Town Councilor salary from $1,500 to $2,500 (to take effect after November 2024 elections)
Increase Board of Education salary from $1,500 to $2,500 (to take effect after November 2024 elections)
Change annual audit requirement to be completed and delivered to the Town Council not later than December 30th with the addition of the language “or as feasible prior to the budget process”.
Further amend a Vacancies section to indicate that it is up to the discretion of the Town Council, not the Board of Education, the option to fill a vacancy for the unexpired term by a special election if the seat becomes vacant within six (6) months prior to the next regular Town election.
Amendments to preparation and submission of the budget, which includes the addition of an itemized statement of all capital assets over $100,000 in value and replacement schedule, the distinction of cash contributions, donations, or gifts to any non-governmental organizations to be delineated in separate line items, and the addition of an itemized statement of specific capital investment recommended for the next five (5) years.
Amendments to Nominations and Elections section to move the Board of Education election from November to June and adjust the nomination period accordingly.
Require voter referendum on long-term financial obligations greater than $600,000 (capital improvement or single item, purchased or leased for longer than a 5-year term).

VIEW DETAILS

Order No. 22-080 provides the full details of each proposed amendment as will be outlined on the ballot.

The Scarborough Public Library building was established in 1989 and has made efforts to expand since the early 2000s (a vote to do so was narrowly defeated in 2006). “Today the library is seriously under-sized for a community of 22,135 residents, and more so than any other comparable library in Maine,” says a letter from the Library Board of Trustees and Director. The planning process for a library expansion began as part of the 2016 three-year Strategic Plan. In 2020, the Library used Town Council-approved planning funds of $390,000 to conduct work with architects and planners as part of a multi-phase engagement plan. The conceptual design is complete, and has produced a schematic rendering, floorplan drawings and a probable cost estimate.

All capital expenditures over $400,000 require voter approval per Town Charter. The Library Board of Trustees has requested that the voters consider granting appropriation authority up to $12,938,995, with financing to come from General Obligations Bonds. The Trustees have pledged private funding to cover any costs over $12,938,995, including relocation expenses to allow the Library to operate in a temporary location during construction. Private support will be raised through a capital campaign, and the Library began this planning at the start of 2022.

Resources

Council Workshop on Library Expansion (July 20, 2022) - Library Presentation

Scarborough Public Library - Expansion Project Website

Scarborough Public Library - Frequently Asked Questions

Library Expansion Project

The following question will be on the ballot: Shall the Order entitled “Order authorizing renovation, expansion, and equipping of Scarborough Public Library, authorizing issuance of up to $12,938,995 in general obligation bonds of the Town of Scarborough and appropriating the bond proceeds for the project" be approved?

All capital expenditures over $400,000 require voter approval per Town Charter. The Library Board of Trustees has requested that the voters consider granting appropriation authority up to $12,938,995, with financing to come from General Obligations Bonds for Library expansion at the existing site. The Trustees have pledged private funding to cover any costs over $12,938,995, including relocation expenses to allow the Library to operate in a temporary location during construction. Private support will be raised through a capital campaign, and the Library began this planning at the start of 2022.

LEARN MORE

Candidates

Candidates that will appear on the November 8th Municipal Ballot:

Town Council (2 Seats)

Shupe, Karin B.
Sither, April V.

Board of Education – 3 Year (2 Seats)

Gammon, Carolyn L.
Tarpinian, Frayla A.

Board of Education – 1 Year (1 Seat)

Maiorino, Brian M.

Sanitary District Trustees (2 Seats)

Carroll, Joseph M.

View current councilors on our Town Council page.

Candidates' Night
Thursday, October 13
6:00pm
Council Chambers, Scarborough Town Hall

Meet the candidates ahead of the election by viewing our annual Candidates’ Night, sponsored by the Scarborough Community Chamber of Commerce with Kevin Freeman as moderator.

Watch the recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD5Y8CFy5HpXMftV3xX73aw