Sen. Luchini introduces bill to permanently implement 2020 election upgrades

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, Sen. Louie Luchini, D-Ellsworth, introduced LD 1363, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Elections.” The legislation from the Secretary of State and sponsored by Sen. Luchini proposes a variety of updates to Maine’s election laws, including guidelines for use of ballot drop boxes and clearer procedures for curing defects in absentee ballots. The bill received public hearing before the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.

“The Secretary of State and Maine’s municipal clerks put in an incredible effort to make Maine’s 2020 elections a success during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an incredible task to keep both poll workers and voters safe, and make sure everyone was able to cast their ballot,” said Sen. Luchini. “This legislation takes a lot of the common sense updates we adopted last year — including absentee ballot drop boxes and online ballot tracking — and makes them permanent, to make voting as accessible as possible for all eligible Mainers.”

LD 1363 is a department bill from the Secretary of State. It codifies the innovative changes the state implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to make sure Maine people could still safely vote in elections and to ensure election clerks could efficiently process ballots. Those changes include but are not limited to procedures for using secure absentee ballot drop boxes, procedures for dealing with and curing defects on absentee ballots, and allowing 16-year-old Mainers who have pre-registered to vote to serve as election clerks.

The bill faces further action in committee.