Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows issued the following statement on President Trump’s Executive Order on Election Administration this morning:

“Maine elections are free, safe, secure and accessible.  Executive Orders cannot change federal voter registration law or Maine election law.  Nor can Executive Orders compel Maine to enter into data sharing agreements to turn over information about Maine citizens to anyone.  In our democracy, the power and authority to make law lies with the legislative branch.

It is ironic that President Trump asserts this Executive Order will protect election integrity when his Administration has just zeroed out all funding for states to protect election integrity through the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency and the Election Infrastructure – Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

I have serious concerns about the policies proposed in the Executive Order that would make it harder to vote for women, military and overseas voters and rural citizens.  I am also deeply concerned about the data sharing requirement listed in the Executive Order.  Mainers should be able to trust that their voter registrtion and driver’s license data will be protected by their government.  Previous and ongoing actions by this Administration have shown a disregard for information security and data privacy, so I will work with my colleagues in Maine and around the country to protect the rights of Maine voters and the security of our elections.”

Secretary Bellows chairs the Election Infrastructure—Infrastructure Sharing and Analysis Center, a federal/state/loca/tribal election security and cybersecurity partnership of election officials recently defunded by the Departament of Homeland Security.

“On March 25, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order saying that in all federal elections voters must present a valid Federal or State government-issued photo identification in order to vote.  The EO also set out requirements for the Secretary of State’s office to record such information and make it available to the “Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the DOGE Administrator,” states this blogger.  “For states like Maine and Florida with  high populations of seniors, this is bad news.  Seniors who give up their driving licenses because they no longer drive may become ineligible to vote – another right arbitrarily taken away by the Trump administration.”