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Bellows and her peers urge Congress to pass $400 million for election security

Maine's secretary of state said the money is needed to beef up aged technology systems, security methods, and poll workers.

AUGUSTA, Maine — This year’s election is a little over two months away, but election leaders are already planning for 2024.

After Maine had the highest voter turnout in the country in 2022, the 2024 presidential year is likely to bring out massive numbers of Mainers casting ballots. 

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and some of her peers across the country are pushing Congress to pass as much as $400 million in federal aid to help upgrade technology and security, and recruit more poll workers as part of the Sustaining our Democracy Act

Bellows acknowledged the need to upgrade aging infrastructure; like the state's central voter registration system, installed in 2007. Bellows joked that it's just barely older than the iPhone. And, she said, poll workers, on average, tend to be older. Many are retirees who can spend 12 hours on a Tuesday helping to run an election. She wants to see an infusion of young Mainers interested in carrying out the democratic process. 

Nevertheless, she was bullish on carrying a strong, interference-free 2022 election in this, and other, years.

"The good news is, in 2022, on election day, we didn’t see any incidents here in our state, and Maine finished 2022 first in the nation for voter turnout. That’s remarkable," Bellows smiled during a Tuesday interview. "We’re hoping to see that same success in 2024. And, to get there, we’re making investments now in training and in our technology."

As part of her plan to add young people at the polls, Bellows wanted to remind Mainers that teens as young as 16 can pre-register to vote, and sign up as poll workers themselves.

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