On June 19, 2019, Governor Janet Mills made Maine the 16th state to approve AVR after signing LD 1463. Read the Brennan Center press release on the passage here. AVR will be implemented in the Pine Tree Street by 2022.
AVR in Maine
In 2017, Rep. Jared Golden introduced Maine’s first AVR bill, LD 1232. The bill passed in the House but later died in the Senate. On April 2, 2019, House of Representative Speaker Sara Gideon introduced LD 1463, “An Act to Create an Automatic Voter Registration System.” On May 17, the Joint Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs held a work session considering the legislation. The Brennan Center, along with 29 civic, advocacy, and labor groups submitted written testimony to the committee.
On June 5, 2019, the Maine House held a roll call vote on LD 1463 where the bill passed 88–56. On June 10, 2019, the Maine Senate accordingly held a roll call vote on LD 1463, where it passed 19–14. Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1463 into law on June 19, 2019.
Brennan Center Materials
- Testimony of Natalie Tennant Before the Maine Joint Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs (May 30, 2019)
- Testimony of Wendy Weiser Before House Committee on Administration in Support of the For the People Act
Op-eds in Favor of AVR in Maine
- Automatic voter registration is an antidote to efforts to make voting more difficult, Bangor Daily News, (August 14, 2018)
- Maine Compass: The League of Women Voters of Maine Calls for better elections, Anna Kellar, Central Maine, (August 14, 2019)
- Maine Voices: Automatic voter registration would help serve those who serve us, Bill Jefferson, Portland Press Herald (April 10, 2019)
- Sara Gideon: Bill would streamline the processing of eligible voters’ registrations, Sara Gideon, Sun Journal, (May 12, 2019)
- Safiya Khalid: Promoting inclusiveness and increased voter participation, Safiya Khalid, Sun Journal (May 19, 2019)
Brennan Center Publications