PORTLAND (WGME) -- In-person absentee voting began on Monday in Maine. Under Maine law, you do not need a reason to vote early or absentee. Any absentee voter can vote in-person when available or request ballots online, through the mail, or by phone.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 106,000 absentee ballots had been requested in Maine. A total of 5,145 ballots had already been returned. The deadline to request an absentee ballot in Maine is Oct. 31. In Scarborough, as of Monday, voters were only getting the state ballot, not the municipal ballot.

It is just 29 days out until November 5. In Maine, in-person early absentee voting begins 30 days before Election Day.

In-person absentee voting Monday got off to a robust start in several communities, with some Portland voters saying they were eager to cast a ballot in the presidential election.

For a first-hand account of how voting is handled at the local level, Morning Edition Irwin Gratz spoke with municipal clerks in two Maine cities.

All communities are required to offer In-person absentee voting starting Monday through Oct. 31. Municipalities are also starting to mail absentee ballots to people who have requested them.

With the Nov. 5 election less than a month away, Maine voters can now vote absentee in person at their municipal clerk’s office. Some municipalities may have received ballots early and already started in-person absentee voting,