AUGUSTA, Maine- Republican Gov. Paul LePage is renewing calls for a law in Maine to require identification at the ballot box, a measure that has failed in the past.
"Across the nation, legislatures are recognizing the need to protect our sacred right to vote," said LePage, in his weekly address.
LePage also described a scenario where college kids could vote in their Maine college towns, and potentially request an absentee ballot from their home states as well. He cited figures from neighboring New Hampshire that proved many out of state students chose to vote in New Hampshire; he did not cite any evidence that fraud had occurred. The point, says LePage, is that it shouldn't be hard to produce an ID.
"It is not a hardship to require an ID for voting," LePage said. "An ID is already required for buying alcohol, for driving a car, for cashing a check, for boarding a plane, for starting a job for checking into a hotel, and for many other everyday activities."
But opponents have argued that valid voters would likely be excluded from their right to cast a ballot, simply for not having an ID, and that there's no evidence to support the idea that voter fraud is widespread.
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has also refuted LePage's claims that Maine's voter system is not secure.
LePage says he plans to submit a bill this session to require voter ID.
