Maine voters will be asked Tuesday to weigh in on a pair of statewide referendums on election reform and gun safety, in addition to dozens of questions and races in local municipalities.

This year’s elections are expected to see relatively low turnout given that it’s an off-year election with no major statewide or national candidate races on the ballot. But the number of requests for and returned absentee ballots is still outpacing the last off-year election in 2023.

As of Oct. 28, a total of 121,366 voters had requested absentee ballots and 76,905 had returned them. At the same point in 2023, 81,793 voters had requested ballots and 37,368 had returned them. Maine has about 1 million registered active voters.

“We anticipate strong voter turnout given how strong absentee voting has been,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. “That’s exciting, no matter what side you’re on.”

Interest in this year’s elections likely is being driven by the two referendums. Question 1 asks voters if they want to implement a requirement for voter identification and make changes to absentee voting. Question 2 would put in place a so-called red flag law making it easier to confiscate weapons from a person in crisis through a temporary removal order.

Here are a few things voters should know.

1. What are these questions about?

Question 1 would require photo identification at the polls, though there are exceptions for people who cannot be photographed for religious reasons. If a voter doesn’t show photo ID, their ballot would be challenged, but they could return within four days with their ID and have it counted.

The question also contains several changes to absentee voting, including an end to requesting absentee ballots by phone and ongoing absentee voting, which allows older voters and those with disabilities to automatically receive an absentee ballot each year. Other changes include a limit on the number of ballot drop boxes municipalities can have and a new requirement for bipartisan elections teams to collect ballots from drop boxes, rather than municipal clerks.

Question 2 asks voters if they want to approve a red flag law making it easier to confiscate firearms from a person in crisis by allowing family members, in addition to law enforcement, the ability to petition a judge for a temporary removal order. The proposal also would eliminate the requirement for a mental health evaluation as is necessary in Maine’s current yellow flag law.

2. Why are we voting on these?

Both questions were put on the ballot through the citizens’ initiative process, which allows registered Maine voters to gather signatures to put proposed legislation before other voters.

Question 1 was brought forward by conservative activists, including Alex Titcomb, co-founder and executive director of The Dinner Table, a political action committee and advocacy organization, and state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn. They have said the proposal isn’t in response to any specific concerns about how Maine’s elections are currently run, but is about generally strengthening election security.

Question 2 was brought forward by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition and supporters, who started gathering signatures last year after the Legislature failed to act on a red flag proposal in the aftermath of the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston.

3. What do supporters say?

Supporters of Question 1 say it will boost election security, and have pointed to other states that also require identification in order to vote as a reason Maine should. They have minimized the changes to absentee voting, saying they are not significant and would be necessary in order to implement the new requirements for absentee as well as in-person voting.

On Question 2, supporters say it will reduce gun violence and that eliminating the need for a mental health evaluation removes stigma and streamlines the process.

Those in favor of Question 2 also say it could have been used to prevent the Lewiston shooting and other shooting deaths because it allows family members, in addition to police, to petition courts for temporary weapons removal orders.

4. What do opponents say?

Opponents of Question 1 have focused on the changes to absentee voting, which they say will make it harder to absentee vote and are unnecessary. One particular point of criticism has been the removal of two days of in-person absentee voting just before elections, at a time when absentee voting is most popular.

On the voter ID requirement itself, Secretary of State Bellows, a Democrat who is opposed to the question, has said she is against the change because Maine already requires identification to register to vote and because ID requirements in some states have led to legitimate voters being turned away and can increase wait times.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, is against the proposal, and opponents have also received the backing of major unions and civic organizations including the National Education Association, League of Women Voters of Maine and the Maine AFL-CIO.

Question 2 opponents say Maine’s existing yellow flag law, which allows police to initiate weapons removal from a person who poses a risk to themselves or others, is already working and point to the fact that use of the law has significantly increased over the last two years.

Opponents have also criticized the evidence standards that judges can use to make decisions under the red flag proposal, which differ from the yellow flag law and which they say will make it too easy for a person’s weapons to be taken.

Opposition to Question 2 has been led by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Gun Owners of Maine. Two major police unions and Mills are also against Question 2.

5. Are these proposals in place in other states?

Thirty-six states already require some form of voter identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, though only 10 states have strict photo identification policies similar to what is being proposed in Maine.

Twenty-one states, including four other New England states, have red flag laws. Only Maine has a yellow flag law that requires the person in question to be taken into custody to undergo a mental health evaluation.