The two items on this year’s ballot ask two essential questions for Maine voters: do you want to restrict election access and do you want to enact red flag laws. Even though it is an off-year and there are no state or national offices to be voted upon, it is still essential to vote. You have the right to vote, so use it.
Question One reads as follows: 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? Let’s break it down.
Question one is asking you to assess a lot of information at once. The authors of the question are actually asking you nine questions within Question One. These questions are as follows: Do you want Maine to eliminate two days of absentee voting? Do you want Maine to prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone? Do you want Maine to prohibit requests for absentee ballots by family members? Do you want Maine to end absentee voter status for seniors? Do you want Maine to end absentee voting status for people with disabilities? Do you want Maine to ban prepaid postage on ballot return envelopes? Do you want Maine to limit ballot drop boxes? Do you want Maine to require voters to show certain photo ID before voting? Do you want Maine to make other changes to our elections? A vote for yes on one will eliminate all of these, not just enact voter ID.
As college students, this question directly influences you. If you are from Maine but not registered in Biddeford, you might need to call and request an absentee ballot be sent to UNE. You might like the prepaid postage because it allows you to just drop the ballot in the mailbox and avoid the mail room. You might need your parents to request a ballot for you. A vote for yes on one will drastically inhibit your right to vote.
The Maine Secretary of State issued a press release in June of this year, addressing claims that Maine allows voter fraud. She said, “Maine elections are free, safe and secure, period.” The press release then outlined how our existing laws for voter fraud prevention caught 1,191 duplicate votes in 2024 and cancelled 180,584 voter records for being inactive during the last two elections.
Free photo IDs are not accessible to all voters. The Brennan Center reported that nationwide, 500,000 eligible voters don’t have access to either a vehicle or an office which issues IDs. Many of these 500,000 live in rural areas, like Northern Maine. In addition to proximity, many of these ID offices have sporadic hours of operation, making attaining an ID hard if not impossible. There are only 13 Maine BMV locations, which issue state IDs. Many of these 13 locations are in Southern Maine or along the cost, not in the rural parts of the state.
Question Two reads as follows: 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 question is asking whether you are in support of Maine enacting so-called “Red Flag” laws. Columbia University found that Red Flag laws in Florida—enacted after the Parkland shooting—reduced firearm homicide rates by 11%. It similarly affected suicide rates. In 2023, Lewiston was rocked by a mass shooting. Now, the victims’ families are encouraging Question Two to pass, after an attempt was blocked by Governor Mills as reported by PBS. The same PBS article explicitly states that police had been alerted to the Lewiston gunman’s mental health issues but did not pursue the state’s current Yellow Flag laws. PBS reports that a Red Flag law would be less difficult to use than the current Yellow Flag law, which Mills said, “saves lives.”
In addition to the Maine State referendum, Biddeford is electing a mayor this election cycle.
The candidates for mayor are Norm Belanger, a 68-year-old city representative and council president; Marty Grohman, the current 57-year-old mayor and previous city representative; and Liam LaFountain, a 28-year-old city representative.
Grohman, according to the Biddeford Gazette, approved the LLBean outlet by Target, bringing $60 million in commercial value to the city, as well as adding 84 new apartments, and finding stable housing for 70 homeless individuals during his first term as mayor. He said, “I want to keep Biddeford growing. I have a proven track record; People know me and trust me.” Grohman is in support of UNE, and its future endeavors.
LaFountain, in his Biddeford Gazette interview, said he wanted to tackle affordability and transparency. However, he is against private development, such as the proposed UNE marine sciences dock.
Belanger has a background in law, graduating from Harvard and working in Portland as a lawyer. In his Gazette interview, he outlined how he aims to update the city’s comprehensive plan, revising the city charter, and integrating the climate action plan into daily decisions.
