Conservative Group Alleges Thousands of Dead and Duplicate Voters on Maine Rolls

A conservative legal organization has filed an election complaint in Maine, alleging that the state's voter rolls contain thousands of potentially deceased individuals and hundreds of duplicate registrations, just days before the midterm elections.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) identified 3,181 individuals on the rolls who are potentially deceased and 693 duplicate registrations, according to a complaint filed with Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. PILF argues that state election officials have not made a "reasonable effort" to remove ineligible voters from the official list.

"Now we know why they were hiding them because there were problems on them," said J. Christian Adams, president of PILF, in a statement. "They have dead people, they have lots of duplicates and they have general problems. It's something that should have been fixed a long time ago."

Adams stated that his group's findings should have been identified by state officials. "Why does it take a third-party group like the Public Interest Legal Foundation to find these duplicates?" he questioned.

The complaint urges the state to take "additional corrective action" and warns that the foundation "may have no other recourse" but to pursue further action under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) if no steps are taken.

PILF compared its current findings to a previous investigation in 2025, which identified 18,453 potentially dead voters and 1,498 duplicate or triplicate registrations in Maine. The group noted that while the state addressed many records from that prior examination, some errors persist and new issues have emerged.

The analysis used several methods to identify potential inaccuracies, including searching for records with matching addresses, first and last names, and birth years, as well as accounting for typos, punctuation errors, common nicknames, and discrepancies in birth years.

The complaint requests that Maine review PILF's analysis, promptly remove ineligible voters, and implement a long-term plan to ensure compliance with HAVA.

Adams also pointed to a history of legal disputes between PILF and Bellows' office, noting that PILF sued Maine approximately six years ago over access to voter rolls and won a federal appeals court case in 2024 that mandated the records be made public. He accused Bellows of attempting to keep the public unaware of the state's voter roll maintenance efforts.

"Unfortunately, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is not getting the job done," Adams stated, asserting that Bellows has focused on defending election theories rather than ensuring the accuracy of Maine's voter lists.

One concern raised by PILF is the potential for fraudulent voting, where a registration associated with a deceased individual could be used to cast an illegal ballot. Adams suggested that some state officials are hesitant to remove voters listed as deceased due to fears of mistakenly purging eligible voters, thereby potentially creating opportunities for fraud.

"The problem is that sometimes people vote for the dead people," Adams said, adding that Maine has historically attempted to conceal issues related to the quality of its voter rolls.

The legal filing comes shortly before the state's key U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson.