Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine bucked his own party to side with Republicans on voter ID requirements recently, but only after voting against similar requirements twice when he was a state legislator.
Golden is a vocal supporter of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican bill to bolster election security, including through instituting a voter ID requirement to register to cast a ballot in a federal election. But a decade prior when Golden was serving in the Maine legislature, he voted against similar state legislation twice.
In 2015, Golden <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/rollcall.asp?ID=280054332&amp;chamber=House&amp;serialnumber=51" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to kill LD 197, &#8220;An Act To Strengthen Maine&#8217;s Election Laws by Requiring Photographic Identification for the Purpose of Voting.&#8221;
Two years later in 2017, Golden <a href="https://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/rollcall.asp?ID=280062603&amp;chamber=H&amp;serialnumber=49" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> again against voter ID legislation. Golden and his fellow state Democrats voted in favor of a motion not to pass <a href="https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0089&amp;item=1&amp;snum=128" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LD 121</a>, which “requires that a voter provide proof of identity with photographic identification for the purpose of voting. The bill specifies the types of photographic identification that may be used to verify the identity of a voter.”
Last year, Golden seemingly shifted his stance on voter identification laws. The Maine Democrat, who was elected to United States Congress in 2018, voted in support of the GOP-led SAVE Act. He voted for it again earlier this year.
Golden later justified his support for the SAVE Act in a post on his Substack that bashed his fellow Democrats for fearmongering.
“Ensuring American elections are only for citizens is a proposition supported by 83% of Americans. It enjoys bipartisan support,” Golden <a href="https://jaredgolden.substack.com/p/dear-mainer-the-save-act-and-the" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “But just like pro-worker, anti-free trade policies that were once welcomed for consideration by Democrats, this basic election integrity proposal has been sucked into the broader dynamic of resistance to anything that has support from Republicans, and specifically support from President Trump. Some are using misleading fear tactics about voter suppression because they think it will give them an upper hand in politics and elections.”
Golden’s swing toward Republican-backed bills could be a reflection of his competitive seat. He barely <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Jared_Golden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> reelection last year by less than a point over his Republican challenger Austin Therialt. Golden’s district, Maine&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District, voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 and 2024. Recent polling has <a href="https://mainebeacon.com/opinion-maine-voters-want-our-leaders-to-stand-up-to-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> Golden is well underwater with voters.
“Political opportunist Jared Golden has a record of voting against commonsense voter ID requirements. But now that his approval rating is in the dumps and he can’t raise any money from Mainers, he’s desperately bashing his own party and flip-flopping on any issue he can to get attention and score political points. Unfortunately for Jared Golden, the deception won’t work on Mainers. Golden’s days in Congress are numbered.” said Maureen O’Toole, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Golden’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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Maine’s Jared Golden Has A Shaky History Supporting Voter ID Laws