In Maine, a campaign advocating for a citizen initiative to require photo voter identification submitted more than 170,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office on Jan. 6, 2025. If enough signatures are verified, the initiative could appear on the statewide ballot for voters on Nov. 4, 2025.
Maine has an indirect initiative process, meaning that citizen initiatives with enough valid signatures first go to the state legislature before they have a chance to appear on the ballot. If at least 67,682 valid signatures are found, the initiative will go to the state legislature. If the legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. If the legislature does not act on the initiative or rejects it, the initiative goes on the ballot.
State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-90), who is involved with the campaign Voter ID for ME, said, “The will of the Maine people is clear. The need for voter ID is clear. It’s time to act … It’s going to make folks feel that faith—that their voice matters and that democracy is intact in Maine.”
If approved, the initiative would require voters to present photo identification for both in-person and absentee voting. It would provide for the secretary of state to issue free photo ID cards to voters without a driver’s license, with an exception for voters who sign an affidavit of religious objection to being photographed.
The initiative would also repeal a provision allowing immediate family members to return absentee ballots to a secure dropbox and would remove a provision providing for municipalities to request additional drop boxes within a municipality. It would require a bipartisan team of election officials to collect the contents from drop boxes, rather than municipal clerks, and would repeal a provision allowing senior citizens to sign up to receive an absentee ballot automatically before each election.
Currently, 35 states require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day, but many states provide for exceptions to these rules. Of these states, 23 require voters to present identification containing a photograph, with certain exceptions, and 12 states do not explicitly require photo identification. The remaining 15 states do not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D), who opposes the initiative, said, “The citizens initiative presented to us today has so much more that is really problematic. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing … I think reasonable people may agree on what should be required on Election Day. But this is not that. This is somewhat shocking in the changes it seeks to make to absentee voting.”
The initiative is one of two active statewide petitions in Maine. The other, an initiative regarding Extreme Risk Protection Orders for firearms, is still circulating. The deadline to submit signatures for citizen initiatives in Maine is Jan. 23, 2025.
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