Secretary of State Shanna Belllows.
Legislation supported by Secretary of State Shanna Bellows that would make permanent many of the innovative measures the State put in place for voters during the pandemic passed in the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee today by a 5-4 vote, with four (4) members absent.
The bill LD 1363 “An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Elections,” was sponsored by Senator Louis Luchini (D-Ellsworth) on behalf of Secretary Bellows. Provisions of the bill include the state’s partial reimbursement for installation of ballot drop boxes at municipal offices across the state, both of which assisted voters in safely and confidentially participating in the statewide elections in 2020.
A second provision ensures that the Secretary of State’s office will “Provide guidance for clerks to make every attempt to ‘cure’ absentee ballot defects with the voter before rejecting the ballot, to ensure that those unfamiliar with the process which would not unnecessarily be denied their right to vote,” a ‘cure’ process.”
The third provision in LD 1363 requires the Secretary of State’s office to continue the use of the online absentee ballot tracker that was implemented in 2020, so that voters can confirm when their ballot is provided to them by their town or city clerk and when it has been successfully received for processing.
Secretary Bellows supports additional improvements to Maine’s election processes currently under consideration by the Legislature, such as launching an online voter registration portal, allowing seniors and Mainers with disabilities to apply for ongoing absentee ballot status, and institutioning risk-limiting election results. These efforts which serve to improve convenience for voters and confidence in the State’s election processes.
“Making the voting process more convenient and secure is one of my top priorities as Secretary of State,” said Secretary of State,” said Secretary Bellows. “Mainers are accustomed to having the option to conduct nearly all of their life’s businesses online – banking, grocery, shopping, medical appointments, vehicle registrations, even vehicle purchases – and its reasonable expectation that voters should be able to register to vote online as well, as voters in 40 other states already can.”
The four (4) absent members from today’s Committee meeting have until Monday, May 17 at noon to record their votes.
(This seems to mhn.com to be a particularly important subject because of US legislators efforts to suppress voters rights in states such as Georgia, Arizona, Texas, Michigan and elsewhere. It makes this blogger wonder why four members of the Committee did not attend the meeting and vote. Are they Trump allies who would prefer to diminish voters rights rather than protect them from the anti-democratic strategies of the former president)?