By Tony Zeli
On the November 4th, 2025 state ballot, referendum questions will ask voters to enact sweeping absentee voting restrictions and a law to prevent people in crisis from accessing firearms.
QUESTION 1
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 referendum asks voters to approve the requirement of photo ID to vote in-person and to vote absentee. It would exclude currently accepted forms of identification such as student and tribal IDs.
The referendum also would repeal ongoing absentee voting, where a voter can sign up to have an absentee ballot mailed to them automatically for each election. Also, it limits the number of ballot drop boxes to one per municipality. The referendum prohibits requesting an absentee ballot by phone and prevents third-party deliveries of absentee ballots – services often used by elderly and disabled Mainers.
Proponents such as Voter ID for ME say the referendum will make Maine elections more secure by requiring photo ID and securing drop boxes, while also reducing burdens on city clerks by giving them more time to process ballots and helping them to keep up-to-date addresses for absentee ballot requests.
According to the League of Women Voters of Maine, this could be one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the nation if passed. They argue that these restrictions could harm every type of voter, with senior and rural voters experiencing the most disenfranchisement.
QUESTION 2
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?
This referendum would create an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law, commonly referred to as a red flag law. ERPOs allow families to petition a judge when a loved one is in crisis and, if deemed dangerous, a court can temporarily limit their access to firearms.
Supporters say an ERPO is needed to allow families to temporarily prevent a loved one experiencing a mental health crisis from accessing guns. Opponents include Governor Mills, who argued the referendum would undermine the so-called yellow flag law she worked on with gun rights groups in 2019.
