WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Federal prosecutors are reviewing roughly 140 hours of Lewiston City Hall footage involving interpreters assisting voters during early voting.
  • The footage reportedly shows aides pointing at ballot items, handling ballots, and remaining near voters inside booths.
  • Three complaints involving translator activity and a separate Maine People’s Alliance demonstration were filed with Lewiston police.
  • Federal monitors are scheduled to observe polling places in Lewiston and Portland on Election Day.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine is reviewing security footage from Lewiston City Hall showing voters who do not speak English receiving assistance from interpreters connected to local organizations during early in person voting, according to The Maine Wire.

The outlet obtained approximately 140 hours of footage through Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. The recordings cover early voting activity beginning October 13, 2026, and show more than 200 voters interacting with a small group of organization staffers acting as interpreters or aides.

The Maine Wire identified the voters as people of Somali background who do not speak English. The footage includes cases in which aides pointed at ballot items, touched or handled ballots, and stayed near voters inside booths.

Maine law allows a voter to request help from another person when the voter cannot read or mark a ballot because of illiteracy, disability, or religious faith. Under Title 21-A, Section 672, that aide cannot tell the voter how to make selections or otherwise influence the voter’s decisions.

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The Maine Wire also detailed practical rules applied at the voting site and later distributed in writing by City Clerk Kathy Montejo. Those rules require aides to wait until a voter requests assistance and to avoid marking a ballot when the voter can do so.

Aides must also leave the voting area with the voter once the requested assistance is finished. They are instructed not to approach voters who are already inside voting booths.

The reporting described multiple apparent departures from those guidelines in the footage. After the material attracted attention, the clerk’s office began giving staffers a printed summary of the applicable assistance rules.

Three complaints involving the translator activity and a separate demonstration by the Maine People’s Alliance were filed with Lewiston police. The demonstration included political signs inside City Hall, according to The Maine Wire.

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Such activity would conflict with Maine’s prohibition on electioneering within 250 feet of polling places. Democratic State Representative Scott Harriman was among those present during the activity.

One interpreter was removed from the voting area by a warden after approaching a voter who had not asked for assistance. That account came from the city clerk and was relayed in The Maine Wire’s reporting.

Republican candidates Janet Beaudoin and Bret Martel also observed early voting. The candidates described further concerns involving interpreter behavior and signs at the location, adding to the scrutiny surrounding the footage and complaints.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson told the outlet that his office examines all evidence involving complaints of voter intimidation and election interference, “including the video from Lewiston’s early voting at City Hall.” He said the office would not tolerate threats to election integrity.

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Benson also said his office looks forward to working with the Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s office. The review places the disputed footage before federal authorities while state officials handle related complaints.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has separately received complaints concerning the filming and photography of voters and is reviewing those reports. The Maine Wire said Bellows previously acknowledged being aware of noncitizens registered to vote in Maine.

The outlet estimated that Lewiston has roughly 1,300 registered voters of Somali background, with about 4,000 statewide. That estimate was based on matching names against voter rolls.

The reporting also noted English language exemptions offered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to certain naturalized citizens. These include specified age and residency combinations as well as medical exceptions, meaning some eligible voters may be unable to read an English ballot without help.

Maine naturalizes between 900 and 1,400 people each year, according to federal statistics cited by the outlet. The review comes amid broader Department of Justice activity surrounding the ongoing elections, which the report said has led to dozens of arrests of noncitizen voters in several states.

Federal monitors are scheduled to observe polling places in Lewiston and Portland on Election Day. The Maine Wire described that monitoring as consistent with longstanding practice.

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