I have introduced bills this session to strengthen our democracy for future generations, including legislation to:
- Prevent lawmakers from repealing laws approved by Maine voters for a period of two years and allow only technical fixes;
- Codify changes to absentee voting that were made this year, thereby making it easier for voters to participate in our democracy; and,
- Require that the Office of Maine’s Secretary of State’s provide online tracking of absentee ballots for voters to check ballot status.
In addition to these bills, I am working to support legislation introduced by Speaker Fecteau that would allow voters to opt-in to receiving absentee ballots on an ongoing basis without needing to make the request prior to each election.
Maine was once the nation’s leader in voter turnout. Unfortunately, we have fallen behind states that have adopted some form of ongoing mailed balloting, which increases voter participation by 3-10%.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 20 states and the District of Columbia have already implemented ongoing mailed balloting for all or some voters.
Bailey for Maine 