Welcome to the Wednesday, July 2, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Maine voters to decide citizen initiatives on voter ID and extreme risk protection orders in November
- Oregon joins 45 other states in allowing the governor to make appointments to fill U.S. Senate vacancies
- Eight state legislatures are in session and the remaining 42 have adjourned for the year
Maine voters to decide citizen initiatives on voter ID and extreme risk protection orders in November
Maine voters will decide on two citizen initiatives this year – one that would require voters to present photo identification to cast a ballot and one that would create a process for obtaining an extreme risk protection order. These are the only two measures scheduled for the Nov. 4 ballot as of June 25, the end of Maine’s 2025 legislative session.
We previously wrote about these measures in our Jan. 27 edition of the Daily Brew. To see that coverage, click here.
Citizen initiatives are indirect in Maine. This means measures are first submitted to the Legislature, which can approve them, reject them, take no action, or submit a competing measure. Neither ballot initiative received a legislative vote, allowing both to appear on the ballot.
Maine has a Democratic trifecta. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, and Gov. Janet T. Mills is a Democrat.
Voter ID Initiative
The Maine Require Voter Photo Identification Initiative would require voters to present photo ID at the polls. The measure would also require voters who submit absentee ballots to include their driver’s license number, non-driver identification number, or another acceptable photographic identification. Accepted forms of photo ID are listed in the petition. The secretary of state would be required to issue free non-driver identification cards to individuals who are at least 18 years old and do not have a valid state driver’s license.
To see all of the provisions of this initiative, click here.
As of June 2025, 36 states required 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, 25 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, with certain exceptions, and 11 did not explicitly require photo identification.
Maine is one of 14 states that do not have voter ID requirements. If voters approve the initiative, Maine would become the 37th state to require some form of ID to vote and the 26th to require a photo ID.
The political action committee Voter ID for ME is leading the campaign behind the voter identification initiative.
Extreme Risk Protection Order Initiative
The Maine Extreme Risk Protection Orders Initiative would allow family members, household members, or law enforcement to ask a court for an extreme risk protection order to restrict a person’s access to certain weapons if they pose a ”significant danger of causing physical injury to another person.”
If voters approve the initiative, Maine would become the 22nd state to authorize the issue of ERPOs, and the second, after Washington, to do so via ballot measure.
The political action committee Safe Schools, Safe Communities is leading the campaign behind the extreme risk protection order (ERPO) initiative.
No other measures are scheduled for the 2025 ballot in Maine, but three constitutional amendments were carried over from the 2025 regular session for consideration in any regular or special legislative sessions in 2025 or 2026. If the Legislature meets again this year, it could also consider adding general obligation bonds to the ballot.
- Legislative Document 820 would establish a state constitutional right to hunt and fish.
- Legislative Document 1052 would require state legislators to elect the state auditor. Legislative Document 260 would provide that the equality of rights cannot be denied based on a person’s “actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, physical or mental disability, ancestry or national origin.”
Click here to learn more about Maine’s 2025 ballot measures.
Oregon joins 46 other states in allowing the governor to make appointments to fill U.S. Senate vacancies
On June 20, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed Senate Bill 952 (SB 952), allowing the governor to make an interim appointment should a U.S. Senate vacancy occur. This makes Oregon one of 46 states that allow the governor to make appointments to full U.S. Senate vacancies.
The bill requires the governor to appoint a temporary replacement within 30 days of a vacancy, and then to call a special election within 80 to 150 days. Appointees must be qualified citizens from the same political party as the departing senator, with at least 180 days of prior affiliation. The appointment lasts until the term ends or a successor is elected and qualified, and the governor is prohibited from appointing themselves.
Before SB 952, Oregon was one of five states that did not allow governors to appoint a replacement.
As of June 2025, 35 states allow their governors to appoint individuals to fill vacancies temporarily until a special election. The special election in those states must coincide with the next regularly scheduled election to replace the appointee.
In the remaining 15 states, a special election must happen within a certain time frame to fill the vacancy. Eleven of those states, now including Oregon, allow for an interim gubernatorial appointment. The other four – Kentucky, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin – do not allow the governor to appoint a replacement.
Article I, section 3 of the U.S. Constitution originally gave state legislatures the power to appoint a replacement in the U.S. Senate if the legislature was in session at the time of the vacancy. If the legislature was not in session, the state’s governor would appoint a replacement until the legislature could fill the vacancy. The Seventeenth Amendment, which was ratified on April 8, 1913, allows legislatures to authorize governors to appoint a replacement until a special election.
Oregon has a Democratic trifecta, meaning that Democrats control the governorship and both legislative chambers. On April 28, the Oregon Senate passed the bill 16-13. On June 3, the Oregon House of Representatives passed it 31-24. Forty-seven Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while three Democrats joined 34 Republicans in opposing it.
The last time Oregon had a Senate vacancy was from Oct. 1, 1995, to Feb. 6, 1996, after Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) resigned. Wyden won the special election to replace Packwood on Jan. 30, 1996.
To learn more about how vacancies in the U.S. Senate are filled, click here.
Eight state legislatures are in session and the remaining 42 have adjourned for the year
Now that summer has arrived, many states are wrapping up their 2025 legislative sessions. Here’s an update on which states are still in session.
As of July 1,
- Forty-two states’ regular sessions have ended
- Eight states are in regular session
- One state – New Hampshire– is in special session
Forty-six state legislatures hold regular sessions annually. The other four states—Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas—meet in odd-numbered years. The length of a session may be set by a state’s constitution, a statute, or by the legislature and varies among the states.
Ten states have full-time legislators, meaning the legislature meets throughout the year. All other legislators are considered part-time because they only meet for a portion of the year.
California’s legislative session will end in September. Massachusetts and North Carolina’s sessions will end in November.
Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin’s sessions will end on Dec. 31, 2025.
Click here to see the dates of all 2025 legislative sessions.