Yesterday I testified before the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs against two bills that would dramatically change Maine's voting laws. LD 199 would require all of us to bring a photo ID to the polls when we vote. LD 203 would eliminate same day voter registration.
The ACLU of MAINE was joined by a wide array of advocates including AARP-Maine, the Disability Rights Center, Homeless Voices for Justice, the League of Women Voters, the League of Young Voters and many more. Early in the day we held a news conference about why these bills would pose a problem to Maine's senior citizens, our young people, and people with disabilities in particular. Check out the press coverage from the day:
Kennebec Journal
LD 199 and LD 203 are expensive solutions in search of a problem. Supporters allege voter fraud as a justification for these bills, but only 2 cases of people voting twice have been prosecuted in Maine in over 30 years. No one can point to a single case of a person impersonating some one else in order to vote.
Maine has the 3rd highest voter turn out in the country. Only Minnesota and Wisconsin surpass us in voter participation. Both of those states also have same day voter registration and neither requires that you bring a photo ID to the polls on Election Day.
In order to avoid a constitutional challenge, the legislature will have to mandate that free photo IDs be made available to everyone. At $5 per ID and as many as 100,000 Mainers eligible to vote who may not have an ID, that's a hefty price tag in these difficult economic times.
Tell your state legislators that Maine can't afford expensive new programs that make it harder for us to vote. Oppose LD 199 and 203.