I was intrigued by the April 23 article about the transgender ballot question regarding the high number of names that were challenged by the state for non-valid signatures (“Suit against trans sports referendum dealt potential blow by Maine officials”). Out of the 82,000 signatures submitted, nearly 8,000 were considered invalid for various reasons. In other words, about 1 in 10.

As Congress debates the SAVE Act, which will root out the .0003% of fraudulent voters, I have a suggestion to make sure that our petition signers are valid. Maine should pass a law I am calling the PICTURE Act. That’s right, the Proof of Identity Confirmed Through Unnecessarily Ridiculous Examination Act. Before signing the petition, people would need to present a valid picture ID, or passport with address, signature and blood type. The petition gatherers would be responsible for the collection, either photocopy or take a picture, then turn the data over to the state or local clerk for final verification.

If there was ever a process that is rife with error, it is the collection of petition signatures. Before anyone signs on the line, let’s protect our democracy by making people show proper ID — and perhaps in the future give a DNA sample.

William Brink
Sanford