Mainers still believe in voting
To the editor:
The right to vote has been taken away in Maine and we want it back!
Maine has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country. Our state still believes in the power of the vote. Makes me proud to be a Mainer. The reason for this is same-day registration. This has been Maine voters’ right for 38 years. It wasn’t broken so why did the government see a need to “fix” it?
There are eight states that have same-day voter registration plus Washington, D.C., and one state (North Dakota) that has no voter registration. Maine has always chosen its own way. We don’t always go with the majority, we don’t knuckle down to peer pressure. Let’s hope we don’t this time around.
Some people cite fraud as the reason to change the law. Maine is a state of small communities who actually know their neighbors. I realize that the four larger cities in Maine might not have this luxury, but most towns and smaller cities do. As a ballot clerk, I know where most of the voters live, if someone new moves in the area usually we know that too.
Having to go to the town office to register costs time and gas. With gas prices the highest in Aroostook County and especially in the Caribou/Presque Isle area it just doesn’t make sense to have to go twice when once will do. Most of the time the town offices have the same hours as your working hours so when do you go? Employers have to give you time off to vote but not to register. Not to mention the fact that by state error, a registered voter may not be on the voter registration list and would have to fill out another voter card which this year they will not be able to do.
I would like to suggest to all non-voters to try and register before the election day, Nov. 8, and then go vote to overturn this law that our legislators seemed to think we needed. It’s pretty simple to me. Same-day voter registration works and encourages people to vote. Isn’t that what we want, more people voting? Instead of going the way of the 40 other states, the 40 other states should be following us.
Less than 30 percent of the people in this country will be going to the polls this November, that is a shame. It is our right to vote in this country and we should be able to do it on the same day. Laws were supposed to be made to protect the innocent, what happened, where have we gone wrong? Go vote, it’s one of the few rights we have left! It can make a difference!
Sheena McHatten
Castle Hill
