If you were a fan of the old 1901 Maine state flag, then we have some sad news. The flag bill was rejected in the Maine House. So for now we'll continue to fly the blue Dirigo flag. But there's some good news as well — it's Statehood Day. Maine officially joined the union on March 15, 1820. Happy Statehood Day! Read more about Maine's statehood here, describing the national repercussions of Maine's joining the Union and the lasting reverberations even today.
NEWS:
LD 2 passes in the Legislature: This is a victory for racial justice advocates. LD 2 "An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process" passed in both chambers of the Legislature last Thursday and awaits the Governor’s signature for final enactment. While it will take some time for this law to go into effect, it will certainly have a lasting impact. LD 2 creates a process for legislation to be reviewed to see how it would affect historically disadvantaged populations. Thank you to those who sent letters to their Legislators.
Timeframe Extended to Process Absentee Ballots: We had another victory last week. LD 102 "An Act To Extend the Time Frame for Processing Absentee Ballots" also passed in the Legislature. In Maine, we count our absentee ballots at the same time we count Election Day ballots. Advance processing allows for these ballots to be fed into the tabulating machine or ballot box prior to Election Day and counted in a timely manner on election night. Without advance processing, counting of absentee ballots in a year with high absentee participation could significantly delay the reporting of election results, place undue stress on our elections infrastructure (including local election officials), and potentially harm voter confidence in elections. This bill also awaits the Governor’s signature. She has 10 days to sign these bills into law or veto them.
This week's lineup: We plan to testify on four important bills this week in the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee (VLA) . You can see the full committee schedules here. Our testimony will be archived at lwvme.org. Three of these bills restrict the influence of foreign money in our elections:
LD 194 — An Act To Prohibit Contributions, Expenditures and Participation by Foreign Government-owned Entities To Influence Referenda (Emergency). Testifying as MCCE in support.
LD 479 — An Act To Ban Foreign Campaign Contributions and Expenditures in Maine Elections. Testifying as MCCE in support.
LD 641 — An Act To Prohibit Contributions, Expenditures and Participation by Foreign Nationals To Influence Referenda (Emergency). Testifying as MCCE in support.
The fourth bill, below, would lower the voting age to 16. While the League has no official position on this bill, you might be interested to read this supportive op-ed by some of our young allies.
LD 706 — RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Lower the Voting Age to 16 Years of Age. LWVME testifying as Neither For Nor Against.
Establishing Open Primaries in Maine: Coming soon to the Legislature is LD 231. LD 231 would allow semi-open primaries, meaning unenrolled voters would be permitted to cast one ballot in the primary of their choice. Republicans would not be able to vote in Democratic primaries, and Democrats would not be able to vote in Republican primaries.
WHAT THE LEAGUE IS WORKING ON
For the People Act: Now is the time to contact Senator Angus King and Senator Susan Collins and ask them to support the "For the People Act" (S. 1). We've made it easy. You can use our look-up form to find your Senator's contact information and send them a letter that we have already provided. It only takes a few minutes. Click here to get started.
The Brennan Center recently wrote about the importance of campaign finance reform and small donor public financing. As expected, Maine gets a mention in the article. Maine leads the nation in voting rights and Clean Elections, and now that the U.S. House of Representatives just passed the "For the People Act" (H.R. 1), it's a key step toward streamlining campaign finance reform across the nation. Read the full article here.
Tell your story: The League of Women Voters of Maine is working with a coalition to pass a bill that will integrate Online Voter Registration (OVR) into Maine’s election system. We're looking for stories. Do you face difficulties or barriers to register or update your voter registration under the current system? Have you had an experience that would have been easier with OVR? For those who would like to share their story, please email Will at will@lwvme.org.