Action Under the Dome for Monday, Sept 27

Monday, September 27, 2021
Jen Lancaster

This Tuesday, September 28, is National Voter Registration Day. Make your vote count by getting ready for upcoming elections on November 2. If you've moved recently, be sure to update your registration to your new polling place! Contact your town clerk to verify your voting status. 

 

NEWS:

Deadline to submit new legislative maps is today: The Apportionment Commission approved the Maine House and congressional maps last Friday, September 24. The commission has not yet reached a consensus on the Maine Senate districts, but they have scheduled a meeting today at 11:00 a.m. to take one last crack at it. The Commission's deadline to submit the maps to the Legislature is TODAY, September 27. 

We've loaded up the maps from shapefiles submitted to the Commission to make them easier to read: 

We're getting back in action: Last Friday, September 24, was cloture, or the deadline for legislators to submit bills for the second half of the 130th session. There'll be a couple of bills that we'll support and uplift, but for now, some of the more important bills are the ones carried over from the first half of the 130th session. That includes the audits and election transparency bill (LD 1155) and the semi-open primaries (LD 231) bill. We will be working for both to pass — they just need the funding.

 

WHAT THE LEAGUE IS WORKING ON:

RCV could become a reality in Westbrook: On November 2, residents of Westbrook will see a referendum question on their local ballot. The question will ask them to vote on whether or not to implement Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for city elections. If the measure passes, the City Charter will be amended, and RCV will be used for Mayoral, City Council, and School Committee races. To help spread the word and register new voters, we're canvassing throughout Westbrook. Our first canvass session starts this Saturday, October 2. See our events calendar.