Voters rejected Maine Question 1 on Nov. 4. As of Nov. 7, 2025, the vote margins were 35.9% 'Yes' to 64.1% 'No.'
Question 1 would have made several changes, including requiring photo identification for in-person and absentee voting; requiring voters to complete an identification envelope for absentee voting; allowing a person’s absentee ballot to be challenged based on a signature that does not match the signature on the voter’s registration record; repealing language allowing disabled and senior voters (65 years of age or older) to receive absentee ballots without submitting a separate request for each election; prohibiting municipalities from including prepaid postage on absentee ballots; and limiting each local government to one ballot drop box, among other changes.
Heading into November, 36 states required voters to present identification to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Between 2004 and 2024, voters in nine states decided on 10 ballot measures related to voter ID, with eight (80%) being approved. The rejection of the Maine Question 1 decreases this average to 72.7%.
The two other voter ID measures rejected by voters, in Arizona and Minnesota, received 49.6% and 46.2% approval, respectively. That makes Maine Question 1 the voter ID measure that lost by the most significant margin during this period.
Maine Question 1 differed from most previous statewide voter ID measures. While Arizona Proposition 309 (2022) also proposed voter identification requirements for mail-in voting, Maine Question 1 combined voter ID provisions with broader changes to absentee voting, ballot collection, and drop box policies.
The support campaign was called Voter ID for ME, while the opposition campaign was called Save Maine Absentee Voting.
Voter ID for ME raised $649,726 before the election. Save Maine Absentee Voting raised about $1.96 million.
Supporters, opponents, and other commentators provided their explanations for the ballot measure's defeat.
Steve Robinson, the editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, said that Question 1 was rejected, in part, because "the proposed language combined complex absentee ballot rules with simple Voter ID, a tactical blunder. This let Democrats frame the No campaign as 'saving absentee voting,' weakening support for a popular election integrity measure. Donors saw the flaw, and Yes on One lacked funding."
State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-90), who supported Question 1, said the measure was rejected in part because Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) “dramatically weaponize[d] the ballot question.” She added, “I think at the end of the day, there's no amount of additional funding that would have made up for the ballot question as it was written, or certainly the lies that were shared across the state regarding absentee voting being removed.”
David Farmer, the campaign manager for Save Maine Absentee Voting, said, “It's a great result tonight, but it's really a great result for the people of Maine who have demonstrated their confidence in the security and safety of our elections. They turned out in great numbers for an off-year election. And I'm just really happy that they took the time to learn about the issue and to cast their ballot for participation and voting rights.”
In 2026, two other states will vote on measures requiring voters to present photo identification to vote. Nevada voters will vote on Question 7. In Nevada, initiated constitutional amendments need to be approved in two even-numbered election years. As Question 7 was approved by voters in 2024, it must again be approved in 2026 to amend the Nevada Constitution. Additionally, North Carolina voters will decide on a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
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