Jess Fay is policy director for the Maine Council on Aging.

Mainers value our fundamental rights, including voting. Most of us consider voting a part of our collective civic duty, and this is especially true of older people. In fact, Maine is ninth in the country for voter turnout among older people, with more than 77% of Mainers over 65 voting in the 2020 election.

However, more than a third of older Mainers rely on mail-in ballots to cast their votes. This is why the Maine Council on Aging is so concerned about the proposed changes to absentee voting in Question 1. We think these changes will make it significantly harder for older Mainers to effectively cast their votes.

Voting gives us an important voice in deciding who makes decisions for us. Our ability to vote shouldn’t depend on our ability to drive, our access to a computer or where we live — including in nursing homes.

Currently, people who don’t have a driver’s license, don’t have a ride to the polls and don’t have access to a computer can get and return an absentee ballot — and we already have plenty of protections in place to make sure they are eligible to vote.

For years, people in nursing homes and the hospital have been able to call and ask to have someone pick up the ballot and hand-deliver it to them, but Question 1 would make big changes to the current process, making it harder for people to request a ballot and to have someone pick it up and return it for them.

When my husband and I were caregivers for his mother, who wasn’t easily able to leave the house, she would call the town office to request her ballot. My husband would pick it up for her and once she had filled it out, signed it and sealed it, my husband would drop it off for her. This simple act gave her great peace of mind, knowing her ballot was with a trusted person and would be delivered safely.

If the restrictions proposed in Question 1 pass, people who have been voting securely through an absentee ballot for years could lose their ability to vote if they can’t get to the polls or get an ID if they don’t have a license. My mother-in-law had been voting since she was 18 and she continued to vote until she died in her 90s — and she could only vote because she had help getting her ballot.

Only 73% of people over 80 have a driver’s license in Maine, which means that a quarter of people over 80 will be affected by this measure in some way. These folks don’t have a valid driver’s license and already rely on others for a ride to the store, church and doctor.

Particularly in rural parts of Maine, it’s a long way to a state agency that issues ID cards, and getting another ride might be too hard. Question 1 will limit the ways people can request a ballot and vote.

Put simply, if you can’t get to a mailbox, don’t have the internet, don’t have a driver’s license or don’t drive, Question 1 may make it impossible for you to vote.

This isn’t a partisan issue; it’s a fairness issue. People who have been voting their whole lives shouldn’t lose their right to vote just because their eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be and they have no one to give them a ride to the polls.

Here at the Maine Council on Aging, we believe every registered voter should be able to vote, and we have consistently opposed bills that will make it harder for older people to vote. We support policies that make sure every eligible Mainer can easily and confidently cast their ballot. This is why we ask you to please vote “No” on Question 1.