Referendum questions have Mainers talking … and writing
Regarding question No. 1
To the editor:
Maine’s Secretary of State Charles Summers introduced proposed legislation which was then passed and signed into law requiring new voters to register at least two business days before an election.
The new law provides a way for town and city clerks to verify the eligibility of newly registered voters, ensuring fair and accurate elections. It is an impossible task to ask a town or city clerk to check who registered on the day of elections.
At least 41 other states have similar voter registration laws, many requiring 20- and 30-day cutoffs. This makes Maine’s voter registration law requiring two days one of the most lenient in the country. Several of these states require photo IDs. Then add another factor that Maine has over 50,000 more names on our rolls than we have people eligible to vote — students from out of state with no stake in Maine vote here and so we have a climate conducive to fraud.
In my opinion, the only reason for same day registration is to facilitate fraud. If people care about the privilege of voting, registering two days before election will not be a hardship. Maine residents who are already registered at their current addresses are unaffected by the new law and may vote at their new address if they have moved since last voting.
One has to wonder why this is such a passionate cause for the opposition, when in many states around the country one must register 30 days before an election. It is remarkable to me that there is such an outcry over this effort to secure the legitimacy of our elections.
Eligible Maine residents can register to vote at their municipal clerk’s office, by mail, Bureau of Motor Vehicles or any Department of Health and Human Services agency. I hope the Maine voters will vote “No” on Question No. 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.
Gene Graves
Rockport
