AUGUSTA — Last week the Department of Secretary of State’s online service for renewal of motor vehicle registrations, called Rapid Renewal, processed the 2,500,000th renewal.

Rapid Renewal is an optional service which towns and cities can participate in, and is currently available for residents of 326 Maine towns and cities. Residents of all municipalities continue to have the option to renew their motor vehicle registrations in-person at their town office or city hall.

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women released its 2022 report, "Count Us In: Maine Women, Data, and the Care Economy" to the Maine Legislature and Governor Janet Mills.

The Commission is a government appointed group dedicated to improving opportunities for women and girls which prepares a biennial report for the legislature that reflects the current status of women and girls in Maine and recommends policy options that will improve their lives.

AUGUSTA — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows released the following statement on the passing of Augusta Rep. Donna Doore:

Calais — The Calais Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch is closed for the rest of the day.

The branch will reopen for indoor services as soon as possible. Other BMV branch offices, including Ellsworth, are currently open.

We will provide an update with an anticipated reopening time when it is known.

AUGUSTA — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows hosted the Maine Elections Cybersecurity Summit and Training for local election officials on Tuesday. The virtual gathering was attended by more than 100 clerks and featured presentations from elections and cybersecurity staff from the Department of Secretary of State, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Maine Office of Information Technology.

AUGUSTA – Rep. Teresa S. Pierce, D-Falmouth, introduced a measure Wednesday that would safeguard Maine's elections against ballot and voting equipment interference.

AUGUSTA — According to data from the Secretary of State, absentee ballot requests for the 2022 General Election have surpassed the total number of requests from the 2018 General Election. With three more full days of no-excuse absentee voting to go, 211,359 absentee ballot requests have been submitted, compared to 196,710 in 2018.

AUGUSTA — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security REAL ID enforcement deadline is less than a year away – May 3, 2023.

While the standard Maine credential is valid for all in-state purposes, as of May 3, 2023, travelers will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, a REAL ID-compliant State ID, a valid U.S. passport, passport card or other federally-issued identity document to fly domestically, or access federal facilities and nuclear power plants.

Customer visits up at BMV branches up 22 percent this summer

AUGUSTA — Bureau of Motor Vehicle data shows that customer visits per week are up 22 percent over the summer of 2021. For the first week of August, there were 11,371 total customer visits in 2022. In 2021, the same week saw 7,954 customer visits.

"Summer is a busy time at the BMV, and 2022 is busier than we've ever been," said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. "Mainers should be aware that many of the transactions they need to complete are available online � and can be done at their convenience."

AUGUSTA — Maine voters turned out to vote at a higher rate than voters in any other state in the November 2022 General Election at 61.8% turnout of citizens of voting age population. When looking at turnout as a percentage of active registered voters, the number was even higher – 73.3% of active registered Maine voters participated in the 2022 election.