Secretary Bellows pushes back on unconstitutional federalization of elections proposed in MEGA Act

Letter to Chairman Bryan Steil outlines harm act would impose on Mainers

Letter to Chairman Bryan Steil outlines harm act would impose on Mainers

AUGUSTA, MAINE – In a letter to U.S. Representative Bryan Steil, Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows expressed grave concern about harm that would be brought to Mainers if the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act (H.R. 7300) was implemented.

If enacted, MEGA would be the most sweeping federalization of election administration in our nation’s history, well beyond even the SAVE Act, and would mandate rapid and costly changes to voters and municipalities.

Secretary Bellows today issued the following statement:

“The so-called MEGA Act is yet another unconstitutional attempt by the Trump administration to disenfranchise voters and wrest control of elections away from the states – yet another attempt to engineer election outcomes by any means possible. The intent of this proposed bill seems far more about reducing turnout and turning eligible U.S. citizens away from the polls than solving some imagined and disproven theory of voter fraud.

This Act would restrict voting rights of a substantial portion of Mainers, saddling them with costly and confusing mandates that would be impossible for many to meet and designed to discourage them from even trying. All while causing significant administrative and equipment costs to states and municipalities. Maine’s rural residents, those who have changed their names, students, older Mainers, people unable to make it to their local polling place on Election Day all would face uphill battles just to exercise their right vote – even those who have been legally registered and faithfully voted for years, even decades.

At the Maine BMV, we have seen firsthand how difficult it is for many to obtain proper credentials. This is particularly common among married women, people who have changed their names, people who have moved states, northern Mainers born in Canada because that happened to be the nearest hospital. We encounter delays with documentary proof of citizenship every day at the BMV. You can return if you’re turned away at the BMV – you can’t return another day to vote.

Maine is proud of our free, safe, and secure elections, and we routinely rank among the top of the nation in voter turnout. We will not back down in defending the strength of our elections and the rule of law no matter how many times or ways they try."