An Act To Permit Maine Residents To Register To Vote Online
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0770
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: RUSSELL
Amends: 21-A MRSA §131

Legislative Document 
No. 770 
H.P. 523 
House of Representatives, March 5, 2015 
An Act To Permit Maine Residents To Register To Vote Online 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative RUSSELL of Portland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §131 is enacted to read: 
§131.  Registration by electronic means 
No later than February 1, 2016, the Secretary of State shall implement a system that 
permits a person who is qualified to register to vote in the State to register to vote 
electronically on a publicly accessible website administered by the Secretary of State. 
1.  Electronic voter registration system.  The electronic voter registration system 
under this section must include: 
A.  A means by which the system accesses driver’s license and nondriver 
identification card data maintained electronically by the Department of the Secretary 
of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles to facilitate verification of the identity, residency 
and date of birth of a person seeking to register to vote; 
B.  An electronic voter registration application that requires a person seeking to 
register to vote to submit the following: 
(1)  The person’s name, residence address, date of birth, driver’s license or 
nondriver identification card number and the last 4 digits of the person’s social 
security number; 
(2)  An affidavit that attests to the truth of the information provided by the 
person; and 
(3)  Permission for the Secretary of State to use the signature from the person’s 
driver’s license or nondriver identification card; 
C.  Security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voter registration 
applications under paragraph B; 
D.  A manner by which the website informs a person seeking to register to vote of the 
information required to register to vote electronically and alternative methods for 
voter registration; and 
E.  Application information or requirements as determined necessary by the Secretary 
of State and consistent with this chapter. 
2.  Rules governing electronic voter registration.  The Secretary of State may adopt 
rules regarding the administration and implementation of the electronic voter registration 
system under this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
3.  Electronic voter registration report.  Beginning February 1, 2017, the Secretary 
of State shall submit an annual report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over voter registration matters regarding the implementation of 
electronic voter registration under this section, including, but not limited to, the number 
of voter registration applications received and the cost per registration compared to the 
cost of processing paper voter registration applications. 
This subsection is repealed September 30, 2020. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Secretary of State to implement a system that allows a person to 
register to vote online.  The system requires an applicant to provide certain information, 
which is verified using driver’s license or nondriver identification card data maintained 
by the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles.  An applicant 
must submit an affidavit attesting that all information provided in the electronic voter 
registration application is true.  The bill authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt rules to 
administer the electronic voter registration system and requires the Secretary of State to 
submit an annual report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over voter registration matters.