By Andy O’Brien

Early voting has begun in Maine elections, which will take place this year on November 4. On the ballot are two questions. Question 1 involves changes to election procedures in Maine.

This is the text of Question 1 as it appears on the ballot:

QUESTION 1: “Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections?”

Current Maine law
Under current Maine law, in order for someone to register to vote, they must present a valid form of identification, such as a Maine driver’s license or state ID card, a U.S. birth certificate, a passport, or a Social Security card. In addition, they must provide a document that proves residency in Maine – such as a driver’s license, utility bill, paycheck, or official document confirming eligibility for public benefits.

As an additional safety measure, each ballot needs to be placed in an inner envelope known as a “secrecy sleeve” to protect a voter’s privacy. When voting absentee, the sleeve with the ballot inside is sealed and placed inside a larger, pre-addressed return envelope, which contains the voter’s name, address, and signature. These measures serve to verify the voter’s identity. Election clerks make sure the signature on the envelope matches the signature on file. Without the voter’s signature, or evidence of being a registered voter, votes are not counted.

Proposed changes to voter ID laws
If Maine votes “yes” on Question 1, voters would be required to display a photo ID to vote. This would be true for both in-person and absentee voting. Valid forms of IDs under the proposal would include a Maine driver’s license, a non-driver state ID or interim ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card, or a military or veteran ID card. Student, tribal, and Maine Department of Corrections IDs would not be accepted. Voters who have a religious objection to being photographed would be allowed to vote, provided they produce a written affidavit stating their religious objection to being photographed.

If a voter does not have an accepted form of ID, the referendum would require Maine’s secretary of state to issue a valid ID. This ID would be free of charge, but the cost to taxpayers for the state to provide these IDs, and promote their use, would be about $1.3 million.

If Maine votes “yes” on Question 1, voters without an ID who appear at the polls would still be allowed to cast a ballot. However, their ballot would not be counted unless they presented a valid ID to the municipal registrar within four days of the election.

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Question 1 makes a number of changes to absentee voting, and these changes would impact a large segment of the population. About 45 percent of all Maine voters – and 60 percent of senior citizens – opted for absentee voting in 2024.

If Maine votes “yes” on Question 1, in the future voters would need to provide the identification number on their driver’s license or nondriver ID card on their absentee ballot, or a copy of their ID with their absentee ballot.

Also, family members, such as the parent of a student in college, would be prohibited from requesting an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter.

Voters would no longer be able to request an absentee ballot by phone.

In addition, voters who are over 65 years of age, or have a disability, could no longer automatically receive an absentee ballot for each election – as they are presently able to do – without submitting a separate request for each election.

Municipal governments would also be prohibited from including return postage on absentee ballots, even if taxpayers vote to fund it.

Finally, the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot would be moved back two days, thereby reducing the number of days available for casting a ballot.

Municipal governments would no longer be able to have more than one secure ballot drop box for absentee ballots. (Currently, Portland and Orono are the only two municipalities in Maine that have more than one drop box).

And instead of municipal clerks picking up the ballots at the drop box, a bipartisan team of election officials would be required to pick ballots up at the drop box instead.

Proponents of Question 1
Rep. Laurel Libby (R, Dist. 90-Auburn), who helped get the signatures necessary to put Question 1 on the ballot, is a conservative politician who explains on the conservative Dinner Table PAC’s website why she wants Question 1 to pass: “Question 1 is about securing Maine’s elections, making sure that every legal vote counts and that Mainers can have confidence in the strength of our elections. … Right now Maine doesn’t require voters to show identification when they cast a ballot, either in person or by mail. Question 1 would change that.”

Alex Titcomb, campaign manager for “Yes on 1”, acknowledged on “Democracy Docket” in July that voter fraud is actually not a pervasive problem in Maine. He explained his rationale for supporting Question 1 as follows: “The heart of this is that it’s future-looking. We’re not saying there’s an urgent problem now. We’re saying let’s build a secure system to prevent problems from occurring later.”

President Donald Trump opposes absentee voting, and has said he plans to “lead a movement” to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of next year’s midterm elections. He frequently cites disproven election fraud conspiracies in explaining his position.

Thirty-six states have voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those states, 23 will only accept photo IDs, while 13 accept identification such as a bank statement or a utility bill – which does not necessarily have a photo.

Opponents of Question 1
The Brennan Center for Justice, an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization, points out that in Maine the rate of in-person voter impersonation is just 0.00004 percent of all ballots cast. There have been fewer than a half dozen election fraud convictions in nearly 50 years in Maine.

Opponents of Question 1 assert that requirements for photo IDs will unnecessarily disenfranchise the voting rights of older people, along with people with disabilities, and people from communities of color.

Save Maine Absentee Voting Coalition, a nonpartisan group of organizations opposed to Question 1, says on its website: “This measure isn’t right for Maine. We all want our elections to be as secure as possible. Instead of making it harder for Maine citizens to vote and tying the hands of our town clerks, we should focus on giving state and local elections officials the resources they need.”

Gov. Janet Mills has been an outspoken opponent of Question 1.

“Maine is proud to lead the nation in voter participation because of our long history of safe and secure elections,” Mills said in her weekly radio address on October 10. “Whether you vote in person or by absentee ballot, you can trust that your vote will be counted fairly. But that fundamental right to vote is under attack from Question 1.”