In Maine, we are fortunate to have leaders like Secretary of State Shenna Bellows who treat elections as a public trust — not a political weapon. 

When the federal government demands state voter data, it isn’t just a routine records request; it can become a way to build centralized lists of citizens that are searchable, cross-matched and ripe for misuse. Maine’s voter information exists to support secure, fair elections — not to be folded into federal databases that can fuel mass eligibility challenges, error-prone “fraud” hunts or the quiet intimidation that makes ordinary people decide voting isn’t worth the risk. 

Secretary Bellows has stood up for the rule of law, for transparency and for Mainers’ right to participate without fear. In a moment when public confidence is fragile, her steady insistence on protecting both access and integrity is exactly what democratic leadership should look like.

Betsy Saltonstall
Rockport