A bill has been introduced in the Maine Legislature to establish ongoing absentee voting — LD 1690. In Maine, any voter may request an absentee ballot, however they must do so every time they wish to vote absentee, creating an unnecessary burden on voters.
This bill would establish ongoing absentee voting, where a voter can sign up to be automatically sent an absentee ballot for eligible elections, for all Mainers. Ongoing absentee voting is a common sense way to ensure that voters who know they want to vote absentee can do so without needing to request a ballot each time.
An ongoing absentee mailing list will increase access to the ballot, especially for voters in rural areas, voters with disabilities, and others who struggle to access polling places. It will also increase participation in local and special elections.
The public hearing for LD 1690 is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 26. We need to tell our legislators now that ballot and participation in our elections is important. Let's work together to pass LD 1690 in Maine.
Together, we can make a difference:
Contact your legislators:
Use this form to contact your legislators and urge them to support LD 1690. It's quick. It's easy. It'll only take a few minutes.
Testify at the public hearing:
Testifying is an important way for the committee to know that Mainers care about LD 1690. We've written up a guide to writing and submitting testimony: click here to access. This walks you through all the necessary steps.
Facing writer's block? Check out this explainer on LD 1690. Use it to help guide your testimony.
For tips on writing and presenting testimony, contact us at will@lwvme.org. If you're already a pro at writing your own statements, you can submit testimony here.