Longtime GOP community leader Joyce Maker speaks out against Question 1
October 16, 2025
CALAIS – Longtime Republican community leader – former state senator, state representative, member of the Calais Town Council and School Board – Joyce Maker has joined a growing list of leaders in Maine who are urging Maine to vote “no” on Question 1.
“The sad thing about this referendum is that it was sold to us as being about voter ID, not any of the other things that it changes in Maine election law,” Maker said. “I signed because voter ID didn’t sound so bad, even though I believe it’s unnecessary. Now, after reading all of Question 1, I don’t think that the ‘yes’ side would have gotten the signatures if they had been truthful. Question 1 will hurt people who use absentee voting. We are losing some of our rights, and I’m not going to vote to give up more. I will be voting ‘no’ on Question 1.”
Maker joins a list of leaders who are urging voters to reject Question 1. More than 34 organizations have joined the coalition to oppose Question 1, including the Maine Medical Association; Disability Rights Maine; Preble Street; the Maine Education Association; the American Postal Workers Union, Local 458; the League of Women Voters, and the Maine Women’s Lobby.
Dwayne Young, then-president of the Maine Town and City Clerks Association, told the Portland Press Herald in August that the changes included in Question 1 are not needed.
“It will hurt those that normally vote through absentee ballots, especially those that are home bound or have limited or unreliable transportation,” said Young, who serves as clerk in the towns of Weston and Orient in Aroostook County. “As for impacts to clerks, we will be the frontline contact for those who have been affected negatively by the law if passed.”
