One of the more durable political figures in Maine’s 20th century is Lewiston mayor and 11-term state senator Jean Charles Boucher.
One of his last addresses was among the more foretelling. It was on a bill to expand absentee voting. Speaking in 1959 during the waning days of his last regular legislative session, Boucher successfully won the defeat of a bill that proposed abolishing the requirement of a doctor’s certificate before a voter could use physical disability as a grounds for absentee voting.
“I prophesy that if this bill becomes law you will have more absentee ballots than you have voters at the polls on election day,” Boucher predicted.
Despite Boucher’s protests, future Maine legislatures did eventually expand the basis for absentee voting. If recent trends continue we may soon see a time when, as Boucher predicted, over half of all ballots will be by absentee. As we embark on the final weeks of Maine’s biennial election odyssey it’s worth taking a look at how we arrived at this point in the journey.
The concept of any kind of pre-printed ballot, let alone an absentee one, is a novel idea to modern democracy. Voting in Maine when we first became a state was done on sheets of papers on which citizens would handwrite a chosen candidate’s name. (This is still done today in some of Maine’s smaller towns as they choose local officials at spring town meeting time.)
Private groups such as political parties, however, had the prerogative of supplying competing ballots. Voters could thus make a choice not simply by selecting names on a standardized form but by choosing from an array of party sponsored “tickets,” sometimes flamboyantly decorated and often distinguishable by the color of their paper. Such a system allowed others observing the process including, for example, the voter’s employer and even those blatantly offering financial inducements, to clearly see who a voter was choosing by noting what color ballot was deposited in the ballot box.
However, by 1831 Maine became the first state to require that voting for major office be done on a white printed ballot. Voters depositing a ballot on colored paper were subject to a 50-dollar fine. Despite this safeguard, the system still risked abuses of the earlier regime because ballots still could be privately printed and then marked outside the polling stations.
This changed in 1891, when Maine adopted the secret ballot. First used in Australia in 1858, it allowed only government printed ballots that originated from within the polling place. The system was also noted for its use of private voting compartments or booths. Gone was the time when pre-printed tickets issued by political parties could be brought in from outside. Gone too was the scandal of arm twisting and intimidation typifying the earlier system of conspicuous balloting.
All except those away on active military duty were still required to show up at the polls in person on election day until 1921. This was when those who certified they were unable to vote because they were out of town during voting time were permitted to vote absentee. A move by Representative Maher in the 1921 session adopting this law, the first after the advent of female suffrage, to further expand eligibility to physical incapacity was defeated. This was despite his plea on behalf of “women who will not wish at certain times to go through the stress, inconvenience and publicity of the polling place” while pregnant.
By 1937, the physical disabilities basis for absentee voting was enacted, however, but only those obtaining a doctor’s certificate of incapacity were eligible until a 1961 amendment that took away the doctor’s certification requirement.
The next major expansion of absentee ballot eligibility was enacted in 1999 and does away with any criteria for a voter requesting an absentee ballot. This change has resulted in a rapid upsurge in outside the polling place voting in Maine. In this year’s election over 25 percent of voters are expected to vote absentee. (The change has not seemed to have resulted in a significant increase in overall voter turnout, however.)
The 1999 reform was rolled back a bit, however, in the aftermath of the Tea Party Revolution. That was the 2011 GOP sponsored change that reinstated the need for a reason, such as medical or travel commitments, if the request for an absentee ballot came in the three business days before the election itself.
This year that means beginning Thursday, Nov. 1 the rules in this respect revert to those that applied under the old system. Though it is a move that would have won applause from Senator Boucher, it is a possible trap for the unwary. It is also a reminder that the same issues which so troubled Senator Boucher have still nearly 60 years later been ones with which we have still not fully come to grips.
Paul H. Mills is a Farmington attorney well known for his analyses and historical understanding of public affairs in Maine. He can be reached by e-mail: pmills@myfairpoint.net
I get that absentee voting is necessary. When I was in the military it was a great thing. I also understand other work commitments and disabilities. Other than that it’s pure laziness and a lack of understanding about what the right to vote means. If a person is so lazy or inconvenienced that going to the polls on election day is an issue then they shouldn’t vote. Voting is a right and a responsibility. Being a part of the process should be important enough that people can take a little time to exercise that right. This is another example of the majority having to cater to the wishes of the minority. Our society is becoming complacent and lazy. This is yet another example of how that laziness is promoted.
Why do we have just a wooden box for our ballots?
And why don’t we have an electronic counter ballot reader ?
Who are the counters readers of our ballots? Do they have 1 dem and 1 rep. To count?
I would rather vote in person then mail them in…just because how the way this election is going.
My job requires me to be far away for my local polling station on election day. The fact that I have voted absentee for the last six years isn’t because I am LAZY or INCONVENIENCED, but is due to the fact I WORK for a living.
Hey Joe:
So, what you’re saying is: anyone who hasn’t the time to hang around waiting to vote on election day and would rather exercise their citizen’s right on a more convenient day is (a) lazy (b) a minority and (c) unworthy of the right to vote. Got it.
Good thing you’ve got plenty of time to wait in line. Guess you’re (a) old (b) retired or (c) unemployed.
Really interesting column. Although voting on Election Day is usually fun, I think that absentee voting is great and does encourage people who would not or could not easily vote. Thank you, Paul.
i have heard certain delusional people complain that they felt some elections were being swayed toward liberal policies because people that would typically vote conservatively are too busy working on election days. never mind all the reasons this theory holds no water, but now folks complain that those who vote absentee or early are the lazy ones! damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
while i believe voting is a civic duty, that i would rather be at the polls with my neighbors whether i agree with them or not, and that election day should be a national holiday; as others have commented, i also vote absentee because i work far from home and can’t get to the polls in my town in the middle of the week. but let’s not forget that much of the trend we’re seeing toward early voting is a concerned response to a much more sinister trend of nationwide efforts to disenfranchise voters who may be perceived to not be voting the “right” way.
I always enjoy your historical columns, and love learning more Maine history. As to Scott Dyar’s comment above – this is one of the few countries that vote during the week, most places have Sunday elections so that workers have a real chance to vote. That’s mainly because our democracy began back before suffrage expanded. While I do think absentee voting – or early voting – is a good idea for those who have to work that day, or in places where long voting lines inhibit turn out, I cherish the ability to walk to the community center, say hi to people there, and appreciate how I’m participating in the most cherished ritual of our democracy. I would miss it if we went the way of Oregon where all voting is mail in (and most is early).
Did that many people not read my post. Obviously there are work and other obligations. But it should be the exception not the rule. And for norms off the wall comments, read my post again. Anti minority??? That’s a stretch but nowadays that’s the go to insult. Call someone a racist for no reason. And I: A. Work long hours everyday. B. Pay taxes so others can drain the system. C. Take the time out of my busy schedule to exercise my right and Civic duty to vote. And if you have no reason other than your too good to get in line with the rest of your townspeople, then correct your not worthy of the right that many men have fought and died for.
Amen Joe!
I believe that our republic should expand voting to cover several days, and be a national holiday. When people have to work long hours many miles out of town, like our truck drivers, it is difficult for them to make the time to get to their polling place. I enjoy the atmosphere of the polls, and prefer to cast my vote in person on Election Day; however, I truly enjoy the freedom of choosing how I will submit my vote every year.