Desperate to stop Maine voters from approving a voter ID law on the ballot Tuesday, Democratic Party operatives spent Election Day resorting to outright lies in phone-bank conversations with independent voters.
In a recorded phone call obtained by The Robinson Report, a staffer for the Maine Democratic Party falsely claims that Question One, the citizen initiative to implement voter ID, would eliminate absentee voting and block Native Americans from voting. Both statements are categorically false.
The conversation, between Republican Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland) and a woman identifying herself as a volunteer for the Maine Democratic Party, captures the staffer telling Boyer that if Question One passes, “there’ll be no absentee ballot, no mail-in ballot. You’d have to go that day between eight in the morning and eight at night.”
“If we vote yes on Question one, it takes away absentee voting,” the Democrat caller says.
“It all goes away, there’ll be no absentee ballot, no mail in ballot. You’d have to show an ID,” the Democrat said.
Boyer, who is currently managing the gubernatorial campaign for Republican David Jones, was struck by the brazen falsehoods the woman was repeating to what she thought was an uninformed or undecided voter, so he decided to record the call and share it with The Robinson Report.
The Democratic caller also claimed that “indigenous people, tribal members, won’t be allowed to vote either,” because tribal IDs would no longer be valid, and that voters with disabilities would lose access because absentee voting would supposedly “go away.”
Both assertions are worse than untrue. They’re utterly mendacious lies designed intentionally to scare independent, unenrolled, and low-information voters into blocking a common policy that most democratic jurisdictions in the United States and Europe have.
At the end of the call, Boyer gets the woman to admit that she is, in fact, calling on behalf of the Maine Democratic Party.
The Facts
According to the official referendum summary published by the Maine Secretary of State, Question One would require voters to present one of several forms of identification—including a state-issued driver’s license, passport, military ID, or a free state-issued voter ID card—to cast a ballot. It does not abolish absentee or mail-in voting.
Readers of TheMaineWire.com would have received accurate, fair, and balanced coverage of the referendum question had they read Maine Wire Reporter Libby Palanza’s explainer from back in September: 2025 Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election Now Available
Under the proposed law, absentee voters would simply submit a copy of their identification with their ballot request or with the returned ballot—similar to requirements already in place in dozens of other states. Maine’s existing system of no-excuse absentee voting remains intact under the proposal. The Secretary of State’s voter information guide confirms that “eligible voters may continue to vote absentee by mail or in person before Election Day.”
The Democratic caller’s claim that Native Americans would be disenfranchised is equally false. The initiative explicitly requires the state to provide a free voter ID card to anyone who lacks another form of identification—ensuring universal access. The allegation that voter ID is an attempt at “voter suppression” is totally disproven by the free provision of ID documents to any eligible voter. The only votes that would theoretically be “suppressed” by voter ID are the votes of non-citizens, illegal aliens, and Americans who are actually residents of other states.
Tribal identification cards would also qualify if they contain a photo and the voter’s name and date of birth, consistent with Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles standards.
Most tribal governments in Maine—including the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Mi’kmaq Nations—already issue photo IDs that meet those standards. There is no evidence that voter ID laws in other states have led to widespread disenfranchisement of tribal citizens.
If enacted, Maine would join 36 states that already require or request identification to vote, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States like Georgia, Indiana, and Wisconsin have operated under voter ID laws for years with no measurable decline in voter participation or discrimination against minority groups. In fact, most studies show hardly any changes to voter participation rates in states that adopt voter ID measures.
By contrast to other states with stronger election protection measures, Maine currently has some of the loosest election laws in the nation—no photo ID requirement, same-day voter registration, and no-excuse absentee voting. Absentee ballot handling is so loose in Maine that on Sept. 30 a Newburgh woman received 250 ballots in an Amazon Prime package — a mystery Secretary of State Shenna Bellows still hasn’t been able to explain despite vowing to find the “bad actors” she believes are behind the alleged conspiracy.
The false statements from the Democratic staffer echo a pattern of fear-based messaging from the Maine Democratic Party and its allied organizations, such as the Maine People’s Alliance, which have campaigned aggressively against Question One.
Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charles Dingman has publicly acknowledged that voter ID could cost Democrats more than 13,000 votes statewide—a figure that underscores the political stakes for a party heavily dependent on loose registration and absentee rules. That admission helps explain why Democratic operatives are willing to spread misinformation to dissuade independents from supporting the measure.
Question One would not end absentee voting. It would not prevent tribal members or people with disabilities from voting. It would simply require that all voters—regardless of background—prove who they are before casting a ballot, a standard most Americans already accept as common sense. That includes a host of activities, such as flying, buying alcohol, getting a hunting licenses, and many other government-regulated activities.
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