An Act To Protect Voting Integrity by Establishing a Residency Verification Requirement for Purposes of Voting
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §112, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2003, c. 407, §5, is further amended to read:
7. Uniformed service voters, students, institutional patients, Indians. A person does not gain or lose a residence solely because of the person's presence or absence while employed in the uniformed service or the merchant marine of the United States, while a student in any institution of learning, while kept in any institution at public expense or while residing upon any Indian or military reservations. This subsection may not be construed to prevent a student at any institution of learning from qualifying as a voter in the municipality where the student resides while attending that institution , except that, when an applicant lists a residence address on the voter registration application required under section 152 that is a dormitory or domicile provided by, or located on the campus of, a postsecondary educational institution, the registrar shall verify the applicant's residency. Residency is considered established when the registrar can verify at least one of the following:
A. That the applicant's state identification card or driver's license lists the same address as listed on the voter registration application or that the address is on record with the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles;
B. That the applicant has a motor vehicle registered in the State; or
C. That the applicant pays personal income tax or property tax to the State.
summary
This bill requires the registrar of voters to verify residency when a voter registration application lists a residence address as a dormitory or domicile provided by, or located on the campus of, a postsecondary educational institution. The bill provides that certain requirements must be met to establish residency.