elections

The Department of Justice says the detailed data is needed to ensure Maine is accurately maintaining its voter rolls. But Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, says the DOJ is overstepping its bounds as part of a "fishing expedition."

The well-known progressive from Vermont also used the event to boost two Democratic candidates for statewide office in Maine: former Senate President Troy Jackson, who is running for governor, and U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner.

President Trump wants to "lead" an effort to bar mail-in voting and voting machines. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says both would be bad ideas.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, instead asked a DOJ official why the department wanted the information, how it would be used and to provide details about which, if any, laws Maine has violated as part of its efforts to maintain voter rolls.

The president's comment on social media came two weeks after the Maine Republican opposed his administration's bill to rescind $9 billion that had already been approved by Congress.

A Voter ID proposal will appear as Question 1 on the ballot while a proposed "red flag" gun law will be Question 2.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that Maine's $5,000 cap on donations to super PACs was unconstitutional. But the groups behind the law say the U.S. Supreme Court has never decided this specific issue.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has joined her elections counterparts from multiple other states who say they don't plan to comply with DOJ requests for personal data on voters

David Costello, who also ran for the U.S. Senate last year, worked for several decades for federal and state agencies. He joins several other Democrats seeking the nomination to run against Collins in November 2026.

Supporters of the Voter ID referendum accused Secretary of State Shenna Bellows of releasing a "deliberately confusing" question that they say obscures the core goal of the ballot initiative.