Committee Endorses Bill To Put Distance Between Voters, Videographers

A bill to impose a 15-foot setback on people videotaping voters and petition signature gatherers at polling places took a step forward on Friday. Members of the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 11-0 to support the bill, which was sparked by concerns that surfaced during last year’s elections. Some voters as well as petition circulators complained that individuals with video recorders were intimidating people who were asked to sign a petition supporting a ballot initiative to require background checks on private gun sales in Maine.