PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine voters will decide whether the state will become the latest to require voter identification at the polls.
A conservative group in the state has been gathering petitions to get an act on the ballot to require presentation of photographic identification for the purpose of voting. The petitioners have “far exceeded” the required number of signatures needed to get the proposal on the ballot, the Maine Department of the Secretary of State said in a Wednesday statement.
Under Maine law, the proposal will now go to the Legislature for consideration, and lawmakers can either enact it or send it to residents for a statewide vote in November. Democrats control the state Legislature and have turned away voter ID proposals before, so the issue will almost certainly be left to voters.
The Dinner Table, a conservative political action committee, brought forward the proposal. The high number of signatures shows support for voter ID, said Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, the co-founder of the group.
“The time is right because Maine people have spoken up and made it really clear they want voter ID to be the law of the land,” Libby said. “This citizens initiative is Maine people speaking up.”
More than two-thirds of states have a form of voter ID law, according to the National Conference of state Legislatures. The laws vary, and not all of them strictly require a photo ID.
The Maine proposal would require a photo ID, and it would also limit cities and towns to only one secure drop box for absentee ballots. It also requires a photo ID for voters requesting an absentee ballot.
The voter ID proposal has received pushback from voting rights advocates who believe it would be too restrictive. The League of Women Voters of Maine said in a statement that it opposes the proposal.
“It’s disappointing to see Mainers try to impose these barriers on their fellow Mainers’ right to vote, when this state is justly proud of its high voter participation rates,” said Anna Kellar, executive director of the group.
