This November, voters in Maine will decide for themselves whether or not the next time they cast a ballot, they’ll need a photo ID to do so. The ballot initiative is straightforwardly titled, “An Act to Require an Individual to Present Photographic Identification for the Purpose of Voting.” The language appearing on the ballot approved by the rabidly partisan Secretary of State is not so much, but more on that later.
Requiring ID to vote is one of those commonsense issues everybody (or almost everybody) agrees is a good idea. According to polling over the years, Americans consistently support voter ID laws by 70 to 80 percent or more, with majority support across the political spectrum.
For example, a Monmouth poll in 2021 found 80 percent support for voter ID. In 2024, Pew found 81 percent support, and Gallup 84 percent. In 2025, Rasmussen found 87 percent support with a partisan breakdown of 76 percent support from Democrats, 85 percent from independents, and 97 percent from Republicans.
Opponents of voter ID claim it’s racist, which is odd because, again referring to Gallup, 80 percent of people of color (defined as “Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander”) support requiring all voters, which would include themselves, to provide photo identification in order to vote, just 6 percent less than whites.
This overwhelming popular support in “our democracy” explains why thirty-six states have some level of voter ID for their elections. It’s a political slam dunk. What’s truly bizarre is that fourteen states, including Maine and us here in Vermont, don’t require any ID whatsoever to cast a ballot, making it impossible to verify if the person casting a ballot is actually the person to whom the vote is being attributed. This is a problem if you’re concerned with guaranteeing one person one vote.
These outlier states make no sense, practically or politically. Back in 2012, I was privy to some private polling that, like the national data, showed 78 percent of Vermonters favored voter ID requirements with majority support across all parties. So, what’s going through the minds of politicians here and elsewhere who, gifted a landslide, multi-partisan, cross-cultural issue on a silver platter, rub their chins and say, no, they’d rather not? It does make one wonder.
When the folks in Maine decided to move forward with voter referendum to implement a voter ID law (after years of ramming their heads against the brick wall that is the Democrat majority in their legislature), the citizens’ initiative garnered over 170,000 signatures in support – two and a half times the number necessary to put the measure on the ballot, and nearly 20 percent of total registered voters. But still, challenges remain.
As mentioned at the start of this piece, the clear title of the referendum is “An Act to Require an Individual to Present Photographic Identification for the Purpose of Voting.” Get it? Of course you do. But the Maine Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows (a Democrat whose claim to fame was trying to block the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, from even appearing on the ballot; so much for democracy!) crafted the wording for the Act as it will appear to the voters in November thus:
“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?”
Uhhhh… what?
Yeah. Supporters of the voter ID initiative justifiably called baloney on that, but the seven-member Maine Supreme Court – all appointed by Democrats – backed Secretary Bellows. Who, did I mention, is running for governor. This is a dirty trick designed to facilitate further dirty tricks down the road. It’s not something they should be allowed to get away with.
So, my fellow Vermonters who feel strongly about the practical need for commonsense voter ID laws everywhere, consider helping our friends in Maine get the word out – and the vote out on election day – to pass this important citizens’ initiative. Volunteer to make phone calls. Contribute to their public education campaign. Clearly, they are going to need all the help they can get explaining to voters that the intentionally deceptive, gobbledygook ballot language actually refers to a basic voter ID policy — and to vote “yes.” (Learn more at voteridforme.com).
A victory in Maine could help spur a movement for better voter ID laws around the nation, including here in Vermont, where we desperately need one. We’re all in this together!
