9 January 2012 update: Maine has moved its 1st determining step, the Municipal Caucuses, from Sunday 11 March to Sunday 26 February 2012. The party has requested a timing waiver from the DNC.

28 January 2012 update: Since National Convention delegates are not pledged by the caucuses, there is no need for a waiver. The first determining step will be at the 6 March County Caucuses.

"Delegate selection primaries, caucuses, and conventions will begin on the first Tuesday in March..." [Reference: 2012 Delegate Selection Rules for the Democratic National Convention: Rule 11.A.]

Participation in Maine's delegate selection process is open to all registered voters who are enrolled in the Democratic Party. A resident may register to vote on the day of the caucus.

Sunday 26 February 2012: The Municipal Caucuses meet from 1 to 8 pm EDT to choose delegates to the State Convention. Such Municipal delegates are allocated to presidential contenders in proportion to the percentage of the support each candidate receives at the Municipal Caucus. The apportionment of delegates to the National Convention by Presidential Preference will be determined by the delegates at the State Convention but can be estimated using the results of today's caucuses.

Based on the report below, we have soft counted Maine's 31 pledged delegates for President Obama.

27 February 2012 Maine Democratic Party Press Release: "The Maine Democratic Party had great turnout as they caucused in more than 400 municipalities ... kicking off the 2012 election season, despite the fact that the Democratic Presidential nominee has already been chosen ... Today's attendees selected delegates to the Democratic State Convention, elected Municipal Officers and County Committee members.... Democratic candidates, elected officials and representatives from Democratic campaigns all attended today's caucuses where more than 4,500 Mainers turned out for the municipal caucuses ...

Tuesday 6 March - Saturday 31 March 2012: March County Conventions. No earlier than 6 March and no later than 31 March each County Committee shall hold a caucus for the purpose of allocating delegates by presidential preference within that county. [Section III, A. 8.]

Saturday 2 June - Sunday 3 June 2012: State Convention. 31 of 37 delegates to the Democratic National Convention are allocated to presidential contenders based on the presidential preference of the delegates in attendance at the State Convention March County Conventions. A mandatory 15 percent threshold is required in order for a presidential contender to be allocated National Convention delegates at either the congressional district or statewide level.

• 20 district delegates are to be allocated proportionally based on the delegates presidential preferences in each of the State's 2 congressional districts.
• CD 1: 11
• CD 2: 9
• In addition, 11 delegates are to be allocated to presidential contenders based the support for the presidential contenders in the State Convention as a whole.
• 7 at-large National Convention delegates
• 4 Pledged PLEOs

The remaining 6 National Convention delegates consist of

• 6 Unpledged PLEO delegates:
• 4 Democratic National Committee members.
• 2 Members of Congress (0 Senators and 2 Representatives).
• 0 Governors.
• 0 Distinguished Party Leaders.

These 6 delegates and will go to the Democratic National Convention officially "Unpledged".