Question 1
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
In June 2011, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1376, which ended the practice of Election Day registration (EDR), and set a two-day pre-registration requirement for new voters in a municipality. This law also set the same two-day cutoff for the use of absentee ballots.
However, in September, a “People’s Veto” of LD 1376 was placed on the Nov. 8 ballot, which placed the implementation of LD 1376 on hold, and effectively restored the process of EDR until next week’s vote decides the future of the law.
Question 1 asks voters, “Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?”
A “Yes” vote on Question 1 will restore same-day, or Election Day registration.
“Same-day voter registration has worked for almost 40 years,” said Mark Gray, campaign manager for Protect Maine Voters/Yes on 1. “It’s one of the reasons why Maine leads the country in voter participation.”
According to protectmainevotes.com, EDR is a convenient way for Mainers to participate in the political process.
“A lot of people in Maine have to work two or even three jobs to make ends meet, which can make it difficult for them to take time off to go register. Same-day registration makes it possible for many working Mainers to vote. Without same-day registration, these hardworking people could be shut out,” reads the website. “Since Election Day registration was introduced 38 years ago, our state has enjoyed increased voter participation and had trouble-free elections. This has been true in all eight states with Election Day registration. In 2008, Maine had one of the highest voter participation rates in the country. Only Minnesota and Wisconsin had higher participation rates and both states enjoyed Election Day registration.”
However, according to secureourvotes.com, Election Day registration is “bad for Maine.”
“EDR leaves our votes vulnerable to fraud and error. Maine’s election system runs on the honor system – there’s no requirement to show photo ID at the polls. When voters register, local clerks have to manually verify the eligibility of the voter. When people register on Election Day, there’s no time to do this check. So all we have to ensure the integrity of our elections is, basically, luck,” the website reads. “That’s not good enough. Mainers deserve to know their votes are secure, and that ineligible voters are not canceling their votes out.”
The website goes on to refute EDR proponents’ belief that eliminating same-day registration will decrease the number of Mainers who turn out to vote.
“Studies of voter turnout patterns in Maine show clearly that EDR does not affect the number of voters who participate on Election Day. When Maine implemented EDR in 1972, there was no perceptible change in turnout. In fact, the three lowest turnout years in the last 50 years in Maine all occurred after EDR was implemented.”
Regardless of how residents vote, eligible Maine residents will be able to register to vote on Election Day this year. Proof of identity and proof of residency, such as a Maine driver’s license or utility bill, is required to register.
Question 2
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
While many have lumped the Citizen Initiative Questions Two and Three together, they are both comprised of independent ideas with unique results.
Question Two asks citizens “Do you want to allow a slot machine facility at a harness racing track in Biddeford or another community within 25 miles of Scarborough Downs, subject to local approval, and at a harness racing track in Washington County, with parts of the profits from these facilities going to support specific state and local programs?
A “yes” vote on Question Two will, pending local approval, allow for the creation of two slot machine facilities at harness racing tracks — one either in Biddeford or a neighboring community of Scarborough Downs and another slot machine facility at a harness racing track in Washington County. A portion of profits gleaned from both new slot machine facilities would go toward supporting specific state and local programs.
A ‘no” vote on Question Two would deny the creation of the previously mentioned slot machine facilities.
Voters groups supporting either “yes” or “no” on Question Two have emerged across the state, both equally adamant about gaining support for their views. Such organizations include the “yes” endorsing group “Putting Maine to Work, and the “no” endorsing group “CasinosNO!” — both of which feel that a majority vote in their favor will positively impact Maine.
According to Crystal Canney, communications director of “Putting Maine to Work,” a “yes” vote will “put 1,300 people to work in Biddeford and hundreds more in Washington County. A good job is a solution to many problems.”
Canney also cites that the Biddeford proposal would create the only entertainment facility of its kind in southern Maine, featuring a state of the art harness racing track, resort and entertainment complex. She also mentioned that a “yes” on Question Two would provide more than $34 million a year in new state revenues in these difficult times and strengthen the state’s harness racing industry, “which has been in serious financial trouble,” Canney wrote. “That, in turn, will help preserve more than 1,500 jobs and also preserve tens of thousands of acres of open space.”
But CasinosNO! Executive Director Dennis Bailey believes that casinos do not represent true economic development.
“They don’t produce a product, they don’t add value, [the proposed casinos] will not attract out-of-state tourists, they only take money from the local economy — money that would have been spent at local retail shops, restaurants, car dealers and other businesses,” he said.
Bailey is also encouraging the public to vote “no” on Question Two because “contrary to what the proponents are saying, a casino will not help harness racing. In fact, the casino will compete for the gambling dollar and only hasten the demise of this traditional Maine sport.”
He also cited statistics that since Hollywood Slots of Bangor opened in 2005, the number of people attending and betting on harness racing in Maine has declined nearly 40 percent.
Question 3
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
On the Nov. 8 ballot Maine residents will be asked on the third referendum question, “Do you want to allow a casino with table games and slot machines in Lewiston, with part of the profits going to support specific state and local programs? A “yes” vote is to enact the legislation, while a “no” vote is to defeat the measure.
Under the citizen’s initiative, the bill would authorize the establishment of a slot machine facility in a municipality with a population of 30,000 in which slot machines were not in operation before July 1, 2010 if the person who applies for a license to operate holds an option to purchase property located in and owned by that municipality and approval was given by the voters of the municipality. Lewiston is Maine’s sole municipality meeting this criteria, as it is one of only three communities with a population over 30,000 and residents approved the sale of an option on city-owned property in the Bates Mill for this purpose prior to July 2010.
The bill removes the existing limit on the total number of slot machines that may be registered in Maine (1,500 machines) and replaces it with a 1,500 slot machine limit at each licensed slot machine facility. The bill provides for regulation of the slot machine facility by the Gambling Control Board. The bill exempts a slot machine facility or casino in Lewiston from the restriction in existing law that prohibits the Gambling Control Board from issuing a license located within 100 miles of another licensed slot machine facility.
The slot machine operator would be required to collect and distribute 1 percent of gross slot machine income to the state treasurer for deposit in the General Fund for the administrative expenses of the Gambling Control Board. The bill also requires the slot machine operator to collect and distribute 40 percent of net slot machine income to the board for distribution to 28 different entities in specified percentages — ranging from .5 to 3 percent — for a variety of specified purposes. The entities are comprised of economic development and transportation initiatives, as well as programs for energy conservation, water quality improvement, tourism, college scholarships, agricultural fairs, meals on wheels, home-based care for the elderly, humane societies, veterans and other charities, and funds for unrestricted use by Lewiston, Auburn and Androscoggin County.
The legislation also makes any facility that is licensed to operate slot machines, under this initiative or under existing law, automatically eligible to obtain a license for any other gambling-related activity authorized by law after July 1, 2010 regardless of the criteria imposed or required to obtain such a license. Because the voters in 2010 approved the licensing of a casino in Oxford County to operate table games as well as slot machines and the Legislature has since amended the law to allow the Hollywood Slots facility in Bangor to obtain a casino license to operate table games, a slot machine facility in Lewiston would be eligible to receive a casino license to operate table games.
If approved, this citizen initiated legislation would take effect 30 days after the Governor proclaims the official election results.
For more information, please see the Maine Citizen’s Guide, for all four ballot questions, at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2011/nov11citizensguide.pdf.
Question 4
Staff Writer
When voters go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8, they will be faced with four referendum questions of statewide significance.
Question Four asks voters “Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the years of redistricting the Maine Legislature, congressional districts and county commissioner districts after 2013 from 2023 and every 10th year thereafter to 2021 and every 10th year thereafter?”
Maine’s constitution currently provides that legislative districts must be reapportioned based on census data every 10 years, starting in 1983, according to information from the Office of the Maine Attorney General.
Currently, redistricting occurs in the third year after the federal 10-year census (which was last completed in 2010). The next census data will be collected in 2020. The proposed amendment would move the year of redistricting up to the first year following the census. Redistricting based on the 2020 federal census would occur in 2021, rather than 2023, and every 10 years thereafter and would require a two-thirds vote for passage.
A “yes” vote on Question Four would make it so redistricting would occur for the Legislature that convenes in 2013 and also for the Legislature that convenes in 2021 and every 10th year thereafter.
A “no” vote on Question Four would reject moving the timeline for redistricting, leaving it in its current format.
Aside from the state legislative redistricting, the referendum would also include redistricting of the County Commissioners districts and congressional districts.
Redistricting was an issue discussed at great length during the last Legislative session. The final map proposal, which has little impact to Aroostook County, passed through the House of Representatives by a vote of 140-3, and the Maine Senate by a vote of 35-0. The chief sponsor of the bill was State Rep. Dennis Keschl of Belgrade. Gov. Paul LePage signed the redistricting bill into law on Sept. 28.
Two of Maine’s largest newspapers, The Bangor Daily News and The Journal Tribune commented on the proposal in editorials. The Journal Tribune stated in an Oct. 22 editorial, “Hopefully passage of this bill will keep the process from degrading into threats from party members, and affirm the people of Maine are being accurately represented at all levels of government.”
The Bangor Daily News editorial, which ran on Oct. 24, urged a “yes” vote on Question four. “Question 4 is a rarity in referendum history in that its approval would facilitate a better way to resolve an inherently political conundrum. It does so by leveraging better cooperation between the parties. A ‘yes’ vote will spare us all the angst of watching the next redistricting process, which is something like watching a divorcing couple fight over the family dog.”
