Maine's democracy is strong despite socioeconomic barriers to access, report finds

Yahoo

4 days ago

People emerge from the Besse Building after casting their ballots in Albion, Maine on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Michael G. Seamans/ Maine Morning Star)
Maine's democracy remains among the most accessible and resilient in the nation, with strong voter turnout, a largely representative state legislature, and an increased shift toward clean elections, despite some socioeconomic inequities in voting.
That's according to the 2025 State of Democracy in Maine report, compiled by the League of Women Voters of Maine, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, and Maine Students Vote, which offers an assessment of several areas of the state's democratic health — voter turnout, clean elections, campaign finance, government transparency and accountability.
'Despite some areas for improvement, we want Mainers to feel very confident in their democracy and that they should feel proud of where we stand,' said Jen Lancaster, communications director for Democracy Maine.
Maine has made progress over the years in improving accessibility for elections, leading to one of the highest voter turnouts in the country in recent elections. But people that are engaged in local, state and national elections still represent homeowners, wealthier communities and tend to not include the state's diversifying population, the report found. Some other barriers to a healthy democracy include inaccessible county government systems and an overburdened judicial system.
Despite steady gains in gender parity — women now hold 41% of legislative seats, up from 27% two decades ago — the Maine Legislature remains disproportionately composed of older, wealthier white men, according to the report. Baby boomers make up nearly 60% of legislators, compared to 36% of the population. Structural barriers such as low legislative pay and lack of child care might be disproportionately affecting women and younger candidates, the report says.
However, Maine's cabinet under the state's first female governor, Janet Mills, has reached gender parity and beyond: women now hold 55% of executive leadership roles, a first in state history.
And the efficiency gap — a standard for measuring how closely the partisan makeup
of an elected body matches its voter base — is less than 1% for both the House of Representatives and Senate, meaning that the partisan makeup of the state legislature closely reflects the partisan split in votes cast, the report found. A high efficiency gap is indicative of gerrymandering.
Maine continues to lead the nation in voter participation, ranking third nationwide with a 74.8% turnout rate in the November 2024 election (which was a bit lower than the record-setting 2020 turnout). Youth participation also outpaces the national average: 60% of young people aged 18-29 voted in 2024, second only to Minnesota.
But the report also found that voter turnout in the poorest House districts across the state, including some large diverse areas such as Lewiston, was half that of the wealthiest ones, such as Falmouth or Cape Elizabeth. Renters and residents of high-poverty districts were significantly less likely to vote, suggesting structural barriers to participation.
Lancaster said that voter turnout varying by home ownership in particular was a surprising finding of the report.
Renters are more likely to face residential instability, which makes it harder to know where and when to vote and to connect with local political issues and candidates, according to the report. For renters who move frequently, updating their voter registration address might also be an additional barrier.
Maine is one of only two states — alongside Vermont — that allow incarcerated citizens to vote and is one of 14 states that does not require photo ID at the polls. These rules, along with same day voter registration, online voter registration, and absentee ballot drop boxes have helped keep turnout high.
Maine Supreme Judicial Court upholds voter ID ballot question language
But the 'Voter ID for Maine' initiative that will appear on the November 2025 ballot threatens to roll back many of these gains. The conservative Dinner Table PAC launched the campaign in April 2024 as an effort to require voters to show photo identification at the polls, citing concerns of voter fraud. However, the official five-page petition submitted to the state in January seeks to change several additional aspects of Maine election law. If passed, the referendum would impose strict ID requirements, limit absentee voting access, and repeal ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and voters with disabilities.
The League of Women Voters of Maine labeled the initiative an example of voter suppression.
While Maine has made notable strides in election transparency and access, the report flags county governments and probate courts as stark exceptions. Unlike other branches of government, these institutions operate with limited public oversight, outdated online presence, and inconsistent transparency standards.
County government is responsible for staffing jails, sheriffs offices, district attorneys offices and spending of federal funds, such as American Rescue Plan funds and some of the opioid settlement money the state has received.
But people who run for county commissioner, sheriff and district attorney are often uncontested, the report found. In the last decade, only 35% of district attorney races had more than one candidate on the ballot. In sheriff races, only 28% were contested. In the last three elections, only 40% of county commission races were contested, and three races had no candidate on the ballot.
Information about county government meetings, financial audits or services is hard to get online, with website quality often being poor, the report also found.
Probate courts, which operate outside of Maine's judicial system, also vary widely in how they manage case information and public records. Some counties lack even basic digital access to court schedules or decisions.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Solve the daily Crossword