Dear John,

Ensuring that voting, the bedrock of everything that we do for Maine’s environment and climate future, remains accessible and secure for all eligible voters, is a top priority for our organization.

This legislative session, we are proud to join with partners to launch the new Mainers for Modern Elections (MME) coalition. MME is advancing voting rights legislation and working to ensure that future elections remain safe, secure, and accessible for all. This year, the coalition prioritized four pieces of legislation and we are delighted to share that all four of MME’s Democracy priorities have been advanced by the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee!

But the work is far from over: For the first time this year, the full legislature gathered in the State House this week for their final push of the first session of the 130th Legislature to vote on bills that have been finalized by committees. Here's an update on where each of these critical Democracy bills stands:

Implementing Online Voter Registration

Sponsored by Representative Teresa Pierce of Falmouth, L.D. 1126 would require the Secretary of State to create a process for Maine to join 40 other states in offering an online voter registration (OVR) system. Online voter registration records are tied to the drivers license, state ID record, or social security number of a voter and makes the verification of a voter’s identity fast and secure. While the initial cost of implementing OVR is $100,000, it would allow the state to forgo the yearly costs of printing, scanning, and processing hundreds of thousands of voter registration forms each year.

Ongoing Absentee Voting

Sponsored by Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, L.D. 148 provides a process for voters over the age of 65 and disabled voters to request an “ongoing absentee voter” status, which would allow them to automatically receive an absentee ballot for statewide and municipal elections. Importantly, this bill also calls for Maine to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which is a non-profit organization with the mission of assisting states in both improving the accuracy of voter rolls and increasing access to voter registration for eligible voters.

The Secretary of State’s Bill

Presented by Senator Louie Luchini of Hancock County, the Senate Chair of the Veteran and Legal Affairs committee, on behalf of the Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State, L.D. 1363 makes several important changes to Maine’s election law, including: allowing towns to use multiple secure ballot dropboxes, allowing voters to fix errors on absentee ballots, and ensuring that the absentee ballot tracking service developed in 2020 is available moving forward.

Democracy Omnibus Bill

Sponsored by Representative Jay McCreight of Harpswell, L.D. 1575 makes key improvements to Maine’s election law, building on the lessons learned from the July and November elections in 2020. Reforms include clarifying that in-state student IDs are acceptable for voter registration and ensuring that consistent and useful information is provided to voters, including the locations of ballot dropboxes.

As always, thank you for your activism this session to help secure big victories for Maine's democracy, environment and our climate. We'll have more updates for you very soon.

All my best,

Will

DONATE

GIVE MONTHLY

CONNECT WITH US:

unsubscribe