A question on whether Maine should require some form of valid identification in order to vote, or voter ID, will officially be on the ballot this year in Maine, as the Secretary of State has now certified the petitions collected and submitted as part of a grassroots effort to let Mainers decide if some form of credible verification of a voter’s identity should be required at the polls.
Led by Dinner Table Action Executive Director Alex Titcomb and Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), the effort to get a voter ID question on the ballot was accomplished with minimal funding and hundreds of volunteers, organizers say.
The proposed measure, if enacted, would require voters to present a photographic ID or otherwise prove their identity in order to cast their ballots. Because the legislature has repeatedly failed to enact voter ID laws, this initiative allows the people to effectively demand such a law, as voters recently did with the automotive right to repair initiative.
Dinner Table Action submitted 4,410 petition forms were to the Secretary of State’s Office with 171,562 signatures, far exceeding the required 67,682 needed, as well as the 100,000 goal initially set by the Voter ID for ME campaign.
[RELATED: Maine Secretary of State Receives 170k+ Petition Signatures for Voter ID Citizens Initiative]
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D), who has previously been a critic of voter ID legislation, indicated in her official determination Wednesday that despite several thousand signatures being disqualified for various technical reasons, the petition still had more than enough support to be deemed valid, in part because of the large number of signatures the group had submitted.
As a result of this, a question will appear on Mainers’ ballots this November that, if passed, will form the basis of enabling legislation.
If approved, Maine would become the 36th state to implement voter ID requirements, bringing the state into alignment with emerging trends in America and Europe.
Currently, 46 out of 47 European countries require some form of personal identification in order to vote.
While supporters of voter ID laws have argued that it’s a common sense measure, opponents have suggested that it represents a form of voter suppression.
Despite repeated allegations that voter ID would suppress the vote of minority and low-income citizens, a 2019 report from the non-partisan National Bureau of Economic Research (NEBR) argued that these claims are unsubstantiated.
“Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.3-billion-observations panel, we find the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation,” the NEBR wrote. “These results hold through a large number of specifications and cannot be attributed to mobilization against the laws, measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement.”
The same report also noted that such requirements were not found to have any impact on fraud, “actual or perceived,” but this has not detracted from Americans’ overwhelming support for voter ID legislation.
According to a February 2024 poll conducted by Pew Research Center, voter ID laws enjoy the support of an overwhelming 81 percent of Americans.
These survey results also highlight the strong bipartisan nature of this support, with 95 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats expressing a desire for photographic identification to be required when casting a ballot.
Under the law that will appear on this November’s ballot, voters would be required to present a valid photo ID, such as a Maine driver’s license, U.S. passport, or military ID, when casting their ballots in person.
Voters without photo identification would be able to cast a challenged or provisional ballot with the caveat that they must provide proper ID within four days post-election for their vote to be counted.
Religious exemptions for those will moral objections to being photographed can be obtained through an affidavit process. Voters with objections to photography must submit an affidavit citing their beliefs and provide the last four digits of their Social Security number for verification.
To minimize financial barriers, the legislation requires the state to issue free nondriver identification cards to eligible residents without a Maine driver’s license.
[RELATED: Dinner Table Delivers — Conservative Group Aims to Put Voter ID on Maine’s Ballot for 2025 Election]
This law, if passed, would go into effect on January 1, 2026, providing time for any necessary infrastructure adjustments to made, as well as for the launch of public awareness campaigns to explain the requirement.
Under this timeline, voter ID would be in place for the November 2026 elections, which are expected to be consequential for Maine.
Not only will the gubernatorial election be an open race, but U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) will be seeking re-election. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D) could also potentially vacate Maine’s Second Congressional District office in order to run for governor, leaving the contest for that seat open as well.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of the Proposed Voter ID Law
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="35602 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=35602">10 Comments
LONG OVERDUE! It’ll simply make it harder for the Dems to cheat no mater what weak arguments they offer as excuses.
There is NO valid reason to oppose Voter Identification unless you are trying to cheat .
Democrats oppose it because democrats love to cheat . They are good at it .
Let’s get rid of the other democrat scam called Ranked Choice Voting also .
I recently got the license upgraded to have “real ID” since it will likely be enforceable in the next year. Needed an id for a whole bunch of stuff: parking lot, hotel, car rental.
Id’s are a way of life.
Of course it is common sense! bellows and Mills and the rest of the nut job democrats in the legislature do not have any sense, period! Let the people vote and feel like the election is legit for a change, C’mon man!
Cue the Maine’s People Alliance with their civil servant labor organizer dues revenue cache of dough. Expect lots of Trump references and assorted insanity from Schobolm and Tipping’s mercenaries.
Well, there was a time when property owners were the ONLY ones that could vote. When it comes taxes, school etc………makes sense. Ok haters, talk amongst yourselves.
Easier to vote, harder to cheat! What are the selected afraid of?
What a vile attempt at further voter suppression.
How much you want to bet this will overwhelmingly pass only to challenged by Bellows and Mills in court.
It’s a (political) trap people. Remember the mask issue? Think about the arguments in the grocery store about the mask issue and 6 foot apart mandate thing. People got pretty ugly at one another. Think about it. OK then, look up Rev 6:4. If that’s too heavy for you, try Department of “New Americans”.Let me guess, I have to do my part to clean up this immigration issue that “they” created while they were giving illegals ID (New York) Oh, I get it, DIGITAL. See ya on the flip side folks.