NOTE: This action is from the 2017 legislature. For current bills we are working on, please visit this link.
LD 121: "An Act to Require Photo Identification to Vote"
This bill would require Mainers to present photo ID at the polls in order to vote. It manipulates the rules to make it harder for some people to vote. Voter ID has been comprehensively studied – and rejected – before. Legislators should vote NO on LD 121.
ACTION: Contact your senator and representative and tell them to OPPOSE LD 121.
Talking points:
- Voter ID laws disproportionately affect poor people, elderly people, people in rural communities and people of color. Passing laws that make it harder for some groups of qualified voters to cast a ballot amounts to voter suppression.
- This bill addresses a non-existent problem. Proponents of voter ID laws have failed to demonstrate that individual voter fraud is a problem anywhere in the country.
- Maine has always been a leader on voter turnout. Our elected officials should be proud of that fact, and encourage more people to vote – not make it harder to do so.
LD 155: "An Act to Protect Voting Integrity by Establishing a Residency Verification Requirement for Purposes of Voting"
This bill would require increased scrutiny of voters who list a college dorm as their residence. College students who live in Maine have the right to vote in Maine. They should not be subject to different laws than anyone else. Legislators should vote NO on LD 155.
ACTION: Contact your senator and representative and tell them to OPPOSE LD 121.
Talking points:
- We should be encouraging young people to participate in democracy, not intimidating them from doing so. Many college students are participating in their first elections. This bill is designed to confuse them and scare them away from voting in Maine.
- Maine needs more young, skilled people. We should be encouraging people who come here for an education to stay, put down roots and join the workforce. Voting is a great way to help people feel invested in their community.
- This bill amounts to a poll tax by making students pay for extra steps in order to vote in Maine. State law does not require anyone else to purchase an ID or pay special fees in order to vote.
- This bill is focused on a problem that doesn’t exist. There is no evidence to suggest that college students are voting twice.
