Bill to prevent voter intimidation enacted by Maine Legislature

AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate on Tuesday unanimously enacted a bill to prevent voter intimidation by establishing limits on people video recording at polling places.

The bill, LD 1574, “An Act to Protect Maine Voters from Intimidating Video Recording at the Polls,” was sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham. It now goes to the governor.

The bill, which has the support of Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, will not outlaw video recording at the polls, but  establishes a 15-foot “minimum distance” between video recorders and the people they would record.

Diamond said the bill is a victory not only for voters, but for municipal election wardens who will now have clear direction about what activity is and is not allowed at the polling place.

“After some discouraging incidents last year, I knew we needed a proactive approach to give our election wardens the authority to prevent activity that intimidates voters,” said Diamond, who for eight years oversaw elections in Maine as the Secretary of State. “The election is the linchpin of our democracy, and we cannot allow voters to be intimidated away from their right and privilege as citizens to cast a ballot.”

On Election Day last year, voters raised concerns when political activists pointed their cameras at voters as they signed citizen initiative petitions. Those activists focused on people signing two petitions, one that would ask voters whether to raise minimum wage and another to ask voters whether to expand background checks for gun purchases. There were reports made to the Secretary of State that some of the activists were blocking voters paths, pointing cameras in their faces, and demanding they say their names for the camera.

Without any rules regarding video recording at the polls, election wardens felt unable to address the situation.

Gov. Paul LePage has 10 days to sign the bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.

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