By Ray Cardello for January 7, 2025, Season 30 / Post 3

What is happening in Maine to bring the question of the Voter ID requirement to the ballot for the citizen voters of The Pine Tree State to decide its fate is the epitome of the government of the people working as designed. With the boxes of notarized petitions, containing far more than the required number of signatures, delivered to the Secretary of State this week, another milestone has been reached for the Voter ID for Me movement and The Dinner Table Action team. These petitions will require the state of Maine to put the Voter ID question on the ballot in November. Maine is a successful vote away from securing the integrity of the citizens’ sovereign right to vote to elect local, county, and state officials and to pass or deny laws and bond issues. Voter ID will help ensure that every vote is cast by the person named on the voter registration lists. There will be much to discuss about the Voter ID question as we work up to the election. Today, I want to discuss the grassroots effort that made this possible.

Voter ID for Me was a beautiful corroboration between a few key organizers and hundreds of concerned, energetic volunteers who worked for months to reach their goal. The movement was an undertaking of The Dinner Table, a political action committee created by mastermind coordinator Alex Titcomb, Representative Laurel Libby of Auburn, and the person behind the scenes, Lana Hall, who coordinated the hundreds of volunteers, hosted countless Zoom meetings, and kept everyone focused on the goal. These folks started with the mission and began building a citizen army to go door to door or sit at a table at county fairs. Finally, they manned nearly every polling station on Election Day armed with petitions and a vision of success. Teams were to write letters to editors and make phone calls to grow the volunteer ranks. There were teams to call residents to spread the word or to enter valuable data. All these teams went about their work under the watchful eyes and coaching of the leadership team. I hope I got the point across that this was a TEAM effort.

Everyone waited anxiously for the good news after the Election Day blitz that the goal had been reached. The announcement finally came, and nearly 200,000 signatures had been collected and verified, almost twice the number required. This was essential to ensure that challenged signatures would not leave the effort short. The petitions were boxed and delivered to the State House on Monday by Alex, Laurel, Lana, and about 70 volunteers. It was a moment to celebrate but not to rest, as the vote is still ahead. There are thousands of calls to be made, voters to be educated, and an election to be won in November. When the vote comes in confirming the effort was successful, then the party can begin.

In the meaning of full disclosure, I am a member of The Dinner Table and a team member of Voter ID for Me. I witnessed the enthusiasm and energy in many zoom meetings and worked the Ogunquit Election Station on November 5th, along with my partner, Sharon. We saw the voters who were quick to sign their names and those who scoffed at the effort. That is what Democracy looks like. There are always people on both sides of an issue. Our task for the next ten months is to make sure there are more on our side of the fence. I don’t think this team knows the meaning of failure. I see a very big celebration in November. When Alex envisioned his creation, he saw a group based on the idea that FAITH, FAMILY, and FREEDOM are the strongest foundation on which to build community. Voter ID for Me started with that foundation, added hundreds of volunteers, and made a difference. We are still a government of the people, and that is a wonderful thing. May God bless America and Maine.