Residents of Albion vote on Town affairs and for Town officers annually at the Town Meeting held in March.  This is a two-day event that involves secret-ballot voting for Town officers that occurs on the first day, typically the 3rd Friday and floor discussions and votes on the second day, typically the 3rd Saturday.

Every year, seats on the Selectboard, Assessing Board and Overseers of the Poor  are up for election.  Periodically, positions for MSAD49 Board of School Directors, Tax Collector & Treasurer and Town Clerk are also filled by election.

Anyone who is interested in running for local office may take out nomination papers when they become available typically in early December.

For more information, contact the Town Clerk at (207) 437-2900.

The annual town report available in early March includes all of the measures voters will consider. The report also contains explanations of budget request, submissions by each Town government department, the Board of Select persons and many Town committees, along with the annual financial audit.

Municipal Clerk

Jeanie A. Doore
22 Main St
Albion, ME 04910
Phone: (207) 437-2900
Fax: (207) 437-2903

clerk@albionmaine.gov

 Municipal Registrar

Same as Clerk

Upcoming Election

March 14, 2025 Election

Polling Location

Besse Building

22 Main Street, Albion ME

Polling Hours

2:00pm - 7:00pm

Absentee Ballots for the Municipal Elections must be returned no later than Friday, March 14th at 7:00pm.

CANDIDATE BALLOT

March 15, 2025, Annual Town Meeting

10:00am at the Albion Elementary School

20 School Street, Albion, ME

WARRANT FOR ANNUAL TOWN MEETING

What happens at a town meeting?

Town Meeting serves many of the same functions as the Legislature in Augusta and the Congress in Washington, passing laws and adopting budgets. But Town Meeting is more than just the “legislature;” it is also the “electorate,” electing the selectmen and other town officials. In fact, under state law, the only thing required of the annual town meeting is the election of the municipal officials.

Elections may occur in two ways. The traditional way is to nominate officials from the floor of the meeting and to vote by a show of hands or by writing names on a paper ballot. A more recent way (1890) is to require candidates to declare their candidacies prior to the Town Meeting by taking out nomination papers. Voting is then done by secret ballot in the privacy of a voting booth.

Unlike the state Legislature and Congress, Town Meeting is not a representative body. It’s just what it says it is: a meeting in which participation is the right and responsibility of every voter. Some say Town Meeting is the “purest form of democracy” because citizens, not their representatives, participate directly in the making of laws and the raising and spending of their taxes.

Since colonial times, the Town Meeting has been a staple of local government in New England. Today, in Maine, most towns still operate under the Town Meeting form of government.

Why should I participate in a town meeting?

The best and perhaps most colorful answer to this question appeared in the Biddeford Journal Tribune in March 1994:

“If you ask why town meetings are so poorly attended, people will tell you they go if there’s something exciting on the warrant. They’ve been watching too much television. When it comes to doing your civic duty (which is the key to accountability in self-government) there’s no room for channel surfing. On town meeting day, town meeting is the only show in town.

“Or they’ll say town meeting is held at the wrong time, or that there are too many issues decided by secret ballot, or that the selectmen do what they want no matter what people say. Well, the way to get things changed (including town meeting scheduling and secret ballot votes) is to attend town meeting and put up a fuss. And it’s no wonder the selectmen and other officials take control of municipal affairs. Somebody has to….

“The purest form of democracy is participatory democracy, in which you put your butt in the chair at the meeting house or the high school gym and you have your say and you cast your vote on every last blessed item on the warrant…You might slip out for a coffee but you don’t slip out for the whole day. If you do, you’re part of the problem and somebody else is going to solve it….”

Suppose I don't want people to know my vote?

There are several methods of voting used at town meeting:

• Voice Vote (yeas and nays)

• Show of Hands (when a voice vote is questioned)

• Standing Vote (if the show of hands is indecisive)

• Division of the House (the most decisive of the first four methods; the moderator asks those voting in the affirmative to move to one side of the room and those voting in the negative to move to the other)

Some people say it makes them uncomfortable when they are asked to raise their hands to vote at town meeting; they don’t want their neighbors to know how they are voting on certain issues. If that is the case, there is a fifth method of voting that takes care of that:

• Written ballot (not to be confused with statutory secret ballots that must be prepared ahead of time and are used when voting is done at the polls.) By law, the moderator, selectmen, and school board members must be elected by written ballot. However, any voter can move that any other article be voted on by written ballot, at any time before the article is voted upon. The motion must be seconded, and no discussion is allowed before voting on the motion to vote by written ballot. Some argue that it takes too much time to vote by written ballot.

Suppose I don't want to vote on a particular article?

There is nothing in the law that requires you to vote, and you should know that. Your non-vote is not considered a negative vote. But you should be clear why you are not voting.

• Is it because you think you are the only one to vote as you will and you don’t want to call attention to yourself? Call for a written ballot.

• Is it because you aren’t sure how you want to vote because you haven’t got enough information? Ask questions.

• Is it because you think the real issue hasn’t been addressed? You can say so.

While the decision to vote is yours alone to make, remember democracy is about having and respecting differences of opinion. It is also about asking questions. It is about casting an informed vote. It is also about becoming part of the solution.

The law, however, is quite clear when it comes to “absentee” voting. There is no absentee voting during a traditional open town meeting. It is only permissible when an item is being considered by secret ballot referendum.

If you would like more information on Town Meeings, you can download the Maine Municipal brochure HERE.