Election Day: Proposed Voter ID Law, People’s Veto of National Popular Vote Among Signature Collection Efforts

Voters heading out to the polls Tuesday will likely encounter petitioners seeking signatures for two initiatives in hopes of earning them a spot on the ballot during future elections.

The first of these two proposals would require voters to present photo identification in order to cast their ballots in Maine — a so-called “Voter ID” law.

The second petition is for a People’s Veto of the Legislature’s decision to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

In Maine, a People’s Veto allows voters to “repeal a piece of legislation passed by the legislature” by using “the initiative and referendum process.”

To earn a place on the ballot, these petitions must each receive more than 67,000 signatures, a number that is calculated based on the turnout levels from the most recent gubernatorial election.

If the petition behind the People’s Veto is able to reach this threshold by August 8, voters will be able to make their voices heard on the matter this November. Otherwise, the question may appear on the ballot during the next statewide election in 2025.

Because the voter ID proposal was submitted after the filing deadline for 2024, the measure will be eligible for placement on the ballot beginning in 2025.

Although the referendum process is typically dominated by left-leaning initiatives, both of these efforts are being spearheaded by Maine Republicans.

Lebanon Republican James DuPrie is backing the Save the Vote 2024 campaign behind the People’s Veto, while Rep. Laurel Libby’s (R-Auburn) Dinner Table political action committee (PAC) is supporting the proposed voter ID legislation.

Proposed Voter ID Referendum

Under the proposed language, Maine voters would be required to show a driver’s license, passport, military ID, or “free non-driver identification card” in order to cast their ballots.

This law would require that “non-driver identification cards” be provided free-of-charge to those who do not have a valid drivers license, thus eliminating any income-based barrier to voter eligibility.

The exact procedure through which these IDs could be obtained, however, would be determined by the Secretary of State at a later date.

Those who have a religious objection to being photographed would be exempt from this requirement.

This legislation would also make some changes to the laws surrounding absentee voting. In addition to adding a photo ID requirement, it would limit municipalities to having only one dropbox for ballots and require that it be managed by a “bipartisan team of election officials” instead of by “the municipal clerk or designees.”

Furthermore, the language seeks to repeal the existing requirements for requesting an absentee ballot and replace it with a more robust application.

Currently, state law only requires that voters submit their name, date of birth, address, and signature when requesting a ballot. Under the proposed legislation, this list would be expanded to include their ID number, a statement identifying the election for which a ballot is needed, a statement that the person making the request is a voter, and if applicable, the voter’s party affiliation.

This proposal also would require that those casting an absentee ballot include their ID number on the identification envelope alongside their other identifying information or alternatively, a copy of their ID in the return envelope with the identification envelope.

Maine lawmakers have recently rejected attempts to pass voter ID legislation for the state. In June of last year, party-line votes in both the House and Senate killed a bill that would have required photo identification for both in-person and absentee voting.

[RELATED: Maine Will Have to Wait Until 2024 for Another Chance at Voter ID]

During the Legislature’s second session, in February of this year, Democrats on the Legislative Council rejected Rep. Heidi Sampson’s (R-Alfred) proposal to increase election security by, among other things, requiring voter ID.

[RELATED: Maine Dems Unanimously Reject Voter ID]

People’s Veto of National Popular Vote Legislation

Approved by lawmakers in April of this year, LD 1587 signed Maine onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected.

By joining this Compact, Maine’s four electoral votes could eventually be awarded to whichever presidential candidate garners the most votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers vote for at the ballot box.

Presently, Maine is one of just two states — the other being Nebraska — that can split Electoral College votes between candidates if voters in one Congressional District cast a majority of their votes for a candidate that did not receive a majority statewide, as happened in both 2016 and 2020.

This Compact will only take effect, however, if the total number of electoral votes represented by the signatories is equal to or greater than 270, the threshold necessary for a candidate to win the presidency.

[RELATED: Maine Joins the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]

Later that month, Gov. Janet Mills (D) allowed the bill to go into law without her signature.

Gov. Mills explained in a press release that she chose to do so because she sees merit in the arguments both for and against the agreement but struggles with the idea of someone — “absent rank choice voting circumstances” — winning the presidency without also winning the popular vote.

Including Maine, the coalition represents a total of 209 electoral votes.

Among the states that have also signed the Compact are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhone Island, Vermont, and Washington.

If the People’s Veto is able to successfully make it onto a future ballot, the legislation behind the agreement could be nullified by a simple majority of voters.

Ballot Question on Super PAC Contribution Limits

A third referendum question — this one seeking to limit Super PAC contributions — has already qualified to appear on the ballot this November.

Independent expenditure-only PACs — more commonly referred to as Super PACs — are PACs that cannot donate to candidates but are eligible to receive unlimited contributions from their donors.

Traditional PACs, on the other hand, can make contributions to political candidates in addition to making independent expenditures, but they can receive no more than $5,000 a year from any single donor.

[RELATED: A Closer Look at the Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Contributions in Maine]

If this initiative were to be approved, however, it would present a challenge to this structure, as well as to existing legal precedent.

Super PACs first came about in 2010 in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC in which the Justices decided that placing limitations on “independent political spending” by both individuals and corporations violated the First Amendment, arguing that these expenditures did not present a sufficient enough threat of corruption warrant government intervention.

With the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ subsequent decision in the case of SpeechNow v. FEC, it was determined that placing any limitations on donations to PACs making only independent expenditures was an unconstitutional under the First Amendment, thus paving the way for the creation of Super PACs.

The effort to advance this proposal in Maine was spearheaded by Harvard Law Professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig.

Equal Citizens — the non-profit founded by Lessig — played an active role in helping to raise funds in support of gathering the signatures needed to put this issue in front of Mainers.

Both Equal Citizens and Maine Citizens to End Super PACs — the ballot question committee (BQC) responsible for the petition — have indicated that they anticipate this law, if approved by voters, will spark legal challenges that will ultimately bring the issue before the Supreme Court.

Click Here for More Information on These Three Citizens Initiatives