A voter deposits a ballot in a drop box at Portland's City Hall. (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star)
When ticking through the statewide ballot in November, Maine voters will first see a question about changing election procedures before being asked about implementing a red flag law.
This order was determined Thursday when Secretary of State Shenna Bellows held a public lottery to determine the order of the two citizen-initiated referendum questions for the upcoming election.
Maine law requires that questions on the ballot be arranged in a specific order, with carry-over measures from a previous election listed first, followed by people’s veto questions, initiated measures, bond issues, constitutional amendments and then other legislatively proposed referenda. The questions within each of those categories must be arranged in a random order.
Voter ID question
The first question will read: “Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections?”
The campaign for this question was launched in April 2024 by the Dinner Table PAC as an effort to require voters to show photo identification at the polls. However, the official five-page petition submitted to the state in January seeks to change additional aspects of Maine election law, such as absentee voting.
The question posed to voters encompasses the multitude of election law changes included in the petition. Though there was pushback on the wording from the campaign and its proponents, Maine’s highest court gave it the OK in mid-July.
In addition to legal action, the referendum has also drawn big spending on both sides.
The “Voter ID for ME” ballot question committee has raised more than $550,000 with half a million of that coming from the national Republican State Leadership Committee PAC, which typically focuses on electing Republican candidates in down-ballot races.
Dinner Table PAC was founded by state Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) and Alex Titcomb, who now serves as “Voter ID for ME” campaign manager, with the goal of electing local conservatives to the Maine Legislature.
Those opposed to the voter ID referendum have collected even more with a group named “Save Maine Absentee Voting” having raised more than $600,000. Additionally, the Democratic Governors Association and the Maine Democrat’s House of Representatives campaign arm each contributed $50,000 to a progressive Washington-based law firm that specializes in voting rights.
Red flag question
The second question on the ballot will read: “Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?”
The question asks voters if they would like to implement a red flag law, officially called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which would make it easier to temporarily confiscate one’s guns if they are deemed to be a threat by law enforcement or their family members. Both gun safety advocates and owners in Maine have emphasized the need for such a law.
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition spearheaded the efforts for this question by collecting more than 80,000 signatures in less than two months.
Maine currently has a so-called yellow flag law, a weaker provision that allows law enforcement officials to take away guns from someone considered a safety risk to themselves or others after an evaluation from a mental health professional. If the referendum passes, it would not replace Maine’s current law, but would be an additional tool police or the general public can use to temporarily confiscate weapons.
A group opposed to the referendum connected with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine reported it raised more than $12,000 as of mid-July.
Currently, 21 states have adopted a red flag policy. A red flag proposal introduced in the Maine Legislature in the wake of the 2023 Lewiston mass shooting advanced out of committee but never was voted on by the full House or Senate.
Though the question hasn’t raked in as much cash as the voter ID initiative, it caused somewhat of a kerfuffle late in the legislative session. Before sending it to voters, lawmakers were required to hold a public hearing on the bill associated with the referendum. As adjournment neared, Republicans pushed for the hearing that was eventually held the final days of the session.
Some gun rights proponents, including the Sportsman’s Alliance, wanted to put a competing measure on the ballot that could potentially have drawn some voter support from the red flag question. However, that proposal, which sought instead to beef up the current yellow flag law, required a work session to be introduced, which the Judiciary Committee declined to hold before adjournment.
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