Our voting rights are under threat. Yesterday, three Maine legislators held a press conference to promote their "election integrity" bills, but this harmful legislation will erode our freedom to vote by creating more barriers.
Those measures include:
- LD 34, which would require voters to show photo ID at the polling place
- LD 237, which would require voters to renew their voter registration every four years
- LD 1055, which would ban absentee ballot dropboxes
The League stands against this legislation — we can't roll back voting rights by establishing photo ID. As we said in our testimony: "We have heard the argument that photo ID laws make our elections seem more secure. There are better ways to build trust in elections than by locking them down."
What can you do to help?
By supporting the League with a $5, $10, or $25 contribution, you can help fund our efforts to lobby against these bad bills in Augusta. Consider donating today. We can't do it without your support.
If proponents of these bills really wanted to strengthen Maine’s safe and secure elections, they could advocate for proven solutions like ongoing absentee voting, increased support for election workers, additional funding for state and local election administrators to have sufficient trained staff, and other needed updates to modernize our elections.
Diving Deeper — Why are these bills bad for democracy?
Photo ID laws, like LD 34, create barriers to voting. They make voting less accessible and disproportionately disenfranchise BIPOC, elderly, disabled, and poor voters. LD 34 is especially strict because it excludes student and tribal IDs. If this bill passes as written, it would be the most restrictive photo ID law in America.
We oppose LD 237, which would require voters to renew their voter registration every four years or be purged from the record if they don't, because we have new measures in place that include Automatic Voter Registration and membership in ERIC, the national voter registration database. These are much better solutions for keeping the voter rolls current.
LD 1055 adds an unnecessary restriction that would prevent people from returning their absentee ballots via a dropbox. Dropboxes are secure and convenient. Period. Many states across the country are making it harder to vote, but Maine continues to lead the way in voting rights. Let's keep it that way.