On Tuesday, Maine residents voted on two state-wide ballot measures.

With more than 95 percent of votes counted for both measures, Question 1 was rejected with just over 64 percent voting “No.” Question 2, however, passed with nearly 63 percent voting “Yes.”

If passed, Question 1 would have imposed various restrictions on absentee voting and required voters to present photo identification (ID) to cast a ballot. The passing of Question 2 approved a law to simplify the process of confiscating the firearms of those “in danger of causing physical injury” through a petition by their family members and filed to a judge for a temporary removal order—commonly known as a red flag law.

Natalie Emmerson ’27, a host of the nonpartisan, educational political podcast, “Pine State Politics,” expressed excitement at the refusal of Question 1 by voters but said that she was not surprised by the outcome.

“I had a very strong reaction, and it was very positive … [but], like I expected, number one [didn’t] pass,” Emmerson said.

Bowdoin College Conservatives leader Zak Asplin ’27 felt that Question 1 had been poorly written, resulting in its rejection by voters. He voiced concern that this would lead to voter fraud in Maine.

“I think voter ID is something [that] should be required,” Asplin said. “However, I don’t think the Question 1 organizers were particularly smart by adding in pages and pages of stuff on regulating absentee voting, as opposed [to] just voter ID. They tried to bite off more than they could chew … and turned away many people like myself who just believe in voter ID [laws].”

However, Asplin expressed ambivalence about the passage of Question 2. He argued that its passage would lead to little change, both with regard to Second Amendment rights and preventing mass shootings.

“We already have yellow flag [gun] laws in Maine anyway, so an expansion to red flag laws [should not] lead to anything that particularly bad,” Asplin said. “I also don’t think it’s going to have the impact we want it to have on regulating mass shootings … because when we think of the [2023] Lewiston shooting, there were yellow flag laws in place which should have prevented that, but authorities didn’t do their job correctly, and so is that going to change because we’ve expanded the law? No, I think what we need is a different approach.”

Emmerson, however, was pleasantly surprised by the passage of Question 2. On top of her excitement for its passage, she discussed what it may signal for next year’s Maine statewide elections, especially the Senate race.

“I was pleasantly surprised…. I was kind of blown away by the margin of victory…. Maine is very famously pro gun-rights, even though I don’t think red flag laws really restrict gun ownership in any way.… [I am] just in awe,” Emmerson said. “I think the big thing is it made me think differently about next year’s elections in Maine. A lot of Democratic voters I’ve heard from have been concerned about [Democratic candidate] Graham Platner’s ability to win in a general election…. But I think the margin of victory [of Question 2] shows that Graham Platner might actually have quite a good chance against Susan Collins.”

Bowdoin Votes, the McKeen Center for the Common Good’s non-partisan voter turnout initiative, tabled to help students register to vote and drove voters from campus to the polls on election day. Program Coordinator Ellen Salovaara ’26 noted that though the group had a smaller staff due to the off-year election, turnout was still strong.

“The rough number of people that Bowdoin Votes took in the vans to the polls was 178,” Salovaara said. “That’s pretty good turnout, and we got a ton of new registrants this year as well with a lot of the first years.”