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I am writing on Question 1 (Maine’s voter referendum), which would place new restrictions on the absentee voting relied on by about 45 percent of Mainers and 61 percent of Maine seniors.
Observers have noted that 36 states require some form of identification. “Some form” is not photo ID, yet this misleading statistic is cited in support of Question 1. Ten states require a photo ID to vote. The remainder of those 36 states accept identification or documentation the proposal would disallow.
If this referendum passes, Maine’s election laws will be among the most restrictive in the country.
Maine has had only two convictions for voter fraud in 42 years, according to the Heritage Foundation, so it’s not clear what problem the bill aims to fix. Impersonating a voter is a felony, which is a lot of risk to take to cast one phony vote.
Making voting harder for eligible voters is not “strengthening,” it’s suppression in my view. Please vote “no” on Question 1.
John Mills
Newcastle
