Maine lawmakers pass suite of bills to expand voting access The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed the measures in a year when voting rights and access became political footballs in many states. Share During a year of pitched partisan battles elsewhere over voter rights and election processes, Maine lawmakers made it easier to register to vote and permanently adopted some election measures that had been implemented temporarily during the pandemic. Not all voting-related measures had strong bipartisan backing in the Maine Legislature, to be sure. Bills opening the door to online voter registration or to allow college students to use their student ID when registering, for instance, were passed by the Democratic majority over the objections of Republican colleagues.