AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Accessibility Project (MAP) has completed its second municipal accessibility review, evaluating the City of Augusta’s response to a standardized public election information request.
MAP is a statewide initiative by The Maine Mirror that measures how accessible municipalities are when residents seek basic public election information. Every municipality receives the same request, is evaluated using the same published methodology, and is scored using the same 100-point rubric.
Overall MAP Score
95 / 100
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Response Received | 20 / 20 |
| Timeliness | 20 / 20 |
| Information Provided | 25 / 30 |
| Official Resources | 20 / 20 |
| Professionalism | 10 / 10 |
| Total | 95 / 100 |
Response Time
Email Sent: July 15, 2026 (after normal business hours)
Response Window Began: July 16, 2026 – 8:00 AM
Response Received: July 16, 2026 – 8:18 AM
Official Response Time: 18 minutes
Because the request was submitted outside normal business hours, MAP measures response times beginning at 8:00 AM on the next business day.
What Augusta Did Well
Augusta provided a prompt, courteous, and well-organized response. Rather than offering only general guidance, the City Clerk answered multiple questions directly within the email.
The response identified the congressional district, state senate district, state representative districts, and county commissioner district that serve Augusta. It also provided official links to the city’s election resources and nomination process and confirmed that municipal election information is available through the city’s official website.
The communication was clear, professional, and easy to understand, making it straightforward for residents to locate additional official information.
Opportunity for Improvement
The only area where points were not awarded was for the request asking for the certified candidates running for the identified legislative seats.
Instead of listing the candidates directly, the response referred The Maine Mirror to the State of Maine Division of Elections. While this is a reasonable referral to the official certifying authority, providing the certified candidate names directly within the response would have resulted in a more complete answer for residents and would have earned full points under the MAP methodology.
Overall Assessment
Augusta demonstrated a strong commitment to public accessibility by providing a timely, professional, and informative response supported by official government resources. The city’s communication made it easy to understand the election information available to residents while directing readers to authoritative sources for additional details.
With a 95 out of 100, Augusta establishes a strong benchmark for future municipal accessibility reviews.
About the Maine Accessibility Project (MAP)
The Maine Accessibility Project (MAP) is a statewide initiative by The Maine Mirror that evaluates how accessible municipalities are when responding to standardized public election information requests. Every municipality receives the same questions, is evaluated using the same published methodology, and is measured against the same scoring rubric.
The goal of MAP is not to criticize local government, but to recognize excellent public service, encourage continual improvement, and help strengthen trust between citizens and the public institutions that serve them. By documenting response times, accessibility, completeness, and professionalism through one consistent framework, MAP seeks to make public information easier to access for every Mainer.
To learn more about the project, explore the methodology, and view every published municipal review, visit the Maine Accessibility Project (MAP):
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