In Maine, signatures for a citizen initiative to require photo voter identification, among other changes, were verified on Feb. 19, 2025. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) announced that the campaign submitted 86,904 valid signatures. A minimum of 67,682 valid signatures was required.
The proposed initiative will now go to the state legislature for consideration. 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 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.”
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.”
If approved, the initiative would require voters to present a photo ID for both in-person and absentee voting. The secretary of state would provide free photo ID cards to voters who do not have a driver’s license. Voters with a religious objection to being photographed could sign an affidavit to be exempt from the requirement.
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.
The measure would require voters to submit a written application to the registrar of their municipality to request an absentee ballot. Applicants would need to include a copy of their photo ID or provide their driver’s license or nondriver ID card number. The measure would eliminate the option to request an absentee ballot by phone and remove the provision allowing voters to automatically receive absentee ballots for each election without submitting a separate request.
Currently, 35 states require voters to present identification to vote at the polls on Election Day, but most states provide some 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 to vote at the polls on Election Day.
The initiative is one of two active statewide petitions in Maine. The other, an initiative regarding Extreme Risk Protection Orders for firearms, also submitted signatures in January.
Voters in Wisconsin will also be deciding on a voter ID ballot measure on April 1, 2024.
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