Why voting NO on Question 1 is vital!

https://www.mainedems.org/protectabsentee

Karen Levine Egee

We all know MAGA is trying to suppress Democratic voting. Here in Maine, Referendum Question 1 on the November ballot is part of that nationwide scheme.

“Question 1 is a direct attack on Maine’s absentee voting system. Forty percent of Mainers voted absentee in the last election. If passed, Question 1 would dismantle the system nearly half of us rely on to make our voices heard.” – Maine Dems

There are already plenty of good explainers on the importance of voting No on Question 1 (e.g., saveabsentee.me). So why am I writing this blog post — even at the risk of redundancy? Because voting Question 1 down is crucial: It’s the gateway to everything else the Maine Dems are trying to accomplish for our state.

In recent Maine elections, Democrats have voted by absentee ballot at a significantly higher rate than Republicans. The changes proposed in Question 1 would have the effect of limiting voting and hence of eliminating more Democratic than Republican voters — giving Republicans an unfair edge. Maine is a blue state, but only by the skin of our teeth! If Question 1 were to pass, Maine Democrats could lose the state — potentially to a MAGA-aligned candidate. If that were to happen, all of our other big issues — gun safety, climate change, humane treatment of immigrants, etc. — could slip away for a long time to come. Question 1 is, again, the gatekeeper. Defeating it gives us a decisive voice in everything else.

Here is what Question 1 actually says:

“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?”

Changes like these would — for no good reason — silence tens of thousands of Mainers who have safely and reliably voted absentee for years.

Question 1 is a threat to:

·      Rural Mainers who live far from polling places

·      Voters with disabilities who rely on accessibility

·      Seniors and others who need the flexibility to vote by mail

·      Working Mainers with multiple jobs and tough schedules

·      Student voters, whose student IDs would no longer be accepted as valid

·      Travelers who are out of state on Election Day

·      Military personnel stationed out of state or overseas

Why are these measures being proposed when repeated studies have shown that there is no significant fraud in Maine’s current voting system? On a recent episode of Maine Calling (Maine Public Radio, October 7, 2025), Alex Titcomb, campaign manager for Voter ID for ME (the right-wing organization behind Question 1), admitted there isn’t a current problem of voter fraud — yet claimed there could be one in the future. This seems a particularly flimsy pretext on which to restrict voting accessibility.

Maine’s elections have always relied on trust — neighbors volunteering as clerks, helping each other get to the polls, mailing in ballots from long dirt roads and offshore islands. Question 1 threatens that tradition. It would make voting harder for the very people who keep our state running: seniors, students, working parents, rural Mainers, and those with disabilities.

The right to vote shouldn’t depend on how close you live to a town office, how much you earn, or whether you can stand in line for hours on a workday. Maine’s democracy works best when every voice can be heard.

So let’s make sure to vote No on Question 1! Learn more at saveabsentee.me and maine.gov/sos. Check your voter registration, request your absentee ballot early, vote early, and help friends and neighbors do the same — before Election Day, on Tuesday, November 4.