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The “voter ID” citizens initiative disguises itself as a way to stop voter fraud. Voter fraud is not a problem in Maine as has repeatedly been proven.
The initiative will make it much harder for medical personnel or other 12-hour shift workers to vote by absentee. It will certainly make it nearly impossible for home-bound folks, whether elderly or handicapped, to vote.
It eliminates the last two days of absentee voting, the Wednesday and Thursday before the election. These days are among the most heavily used dates for absentee voting, and I ask why take them away? Voter suppression is why, I believe. It’s confusing enough with the Friday cutoff, and now it would be a full week before the election.
I have a Real ID driver’s license, but many do not, especially the elderly. Married women, do you carry around your birth certificate and marriage certificate? And proof of residence, which is not provided on a passport. Don’t we want young people to vote? A student ID will not suffice with this initiative.
Maine has some of the highest voter turnout in the nation. This initiative seems imported by out-of-staters who want to disrupt our way of doing things. Don’t mess with Maine.
Martha Williams
Ellsworth
