PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s top election official is encouraging people to vote via absentee ballot during the July primary election to limit the exposure that voters and polling workers have to the coronavirus.

The state will still hold in-person balloting on July 14 with social distancing and safety protocols in place.

But Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said it’s easier and safer to vote via absentee ballot “from the safety of your own home.”

Ballots will be mailed to municipal clerks 30 days before the election.

But voters can go ahead and place them via the state’s website or through local clerks.