Maine lawmakers launch petition to ban Flock surveillance cameras

Republican state representatives Quentin Chapman, David Boyer and Laurel Libby have started a citizen‑initiative effort in the town of Auburn to place a local ban on Flock license‑plate‑reading cameras on the November ballot. Signature collectors will be present at the three Auburn polling places on Election Day to ask voters to sign the petition.

The same legislators are also pursuing a statewide ban, with Boyer introducing a bill that would prohibit municipalities and police departments from using the cameras except for toll collection. They argue the technology expands government surveillance and threatens Fourth Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine has called the cameras a “dragnet surveillance” tool, noting they have been accessed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents as AI policing expands in Maine.