Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would make permanent several election-related changes put forward in 2020 in response to the pandemic and implement additional reforms as part of an effort to improve access to voting in the state.

LD 1575, sponsored by Rep. Jay McCreight (D-Harpswell), would institute a series of changes to state election law. One proposed reform would make the Friday before Election Day open for in-person absentee voting, a shift that was put in place for the 2020 election.

Another proposed change would allow the use of multiple ballot dropboxes in a municipality. LD 1575 would also direct the Secretary of State’s Office to develop rules to ensure dropboxes are secure.

Good-government groups in Maine support a bill which would ban corporate contributions from going directly to state legislators or their campaign committees, a rule that’s already in place in 22 other states and at the federal level in elections for Congress and for president.

John Brautigam, legal counsel and senior policy advisor for the League of Women Voters of Maine and Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, pointed out corporations are profit-driven, and sometimes use campaign contributions to curry favor with legislators and influence the policy agenda.

“We believe that it’s important to ensure that the political process and our democracy are reserved to the voters, to the public, where they can have their say, not to be drowned out by money from corporate interests,” Brautigam contended.

Brautigam noted the corporate form allows a very small number of people to control the flow of a huge amount of money, and he argued this type of reform is long overdue.

When Richard Evans was campaigning in 2020 for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives in deep-red Piscataquis County, he called up a voter who had some questions for him.

Evans, a Black doctor and a Democrat running in an overwhelmingly white county, started the conversation by telling the man that he would answer his questions honestly, even if the responses weren’t what the man wanted to hear. The two had a wide ranging discussion, touching on health care, jobs, education and family life.

“At the end of the conversation, he said, ‘I am a lifelong Republican, I have never voted for a Democrat in my life. But because you were upfront and honest with me, that meant a lot,’” Evans said, adding that the man committed to getting friends and family to vote for the Democrat as well.

Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would make permanent several election-related changes put forward in 2020 in response to the pandemic and implement additional reforms as part of an effort to improve access to voting in the state.

LD 1575, sponsored by Rep. Jay McCreight (D-Harpswell), would institute a series of changes to state election law. One proposed reform would make the Friday before Election Day open for in-person absentee voting, a shift that was put in place for the 2020 election.

Another proposed change would allow the use of multiple ballot dropboxes in a municipality. LD 1575 would also direct the Secretary of State’s Office to develop rules to ensure dropboxes are secure.

Good-government groups in Maine support a bill which would ban corporate contributions from going directly to state legislators or their campaign committees, a rule that’s already in place in 22 other states and at the federal level in elections for Congress and for president.

John Brautigam, legal counsel and senior policy advisor for the League of Women Voters of Maine and Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, pointed out corporations are profit-driven, and sometimes use campaign contributions to curry favor with legislators and influence the policy agenda.

“We believe that it’s important to ensure that the political process and our democracy are reserved to the voters, to the public, where they can have their say, not to be drowned out by money from corporate interests,” Brautigam contended.

Brautigam noted the corporate form allows a very small number of people to control the flow of a huge amount of money, and he argued this type of reform is long overdue.

When Richard Evans was campaigning in 2020 for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives in deep-red Piscataquis County, he called up a voter who had some questions for him.

Evans, a Black doctor and a Democrat running in an overwhelmingly white county, started the conversation by telling the man that he would answer his questions honestly, even if the responses weren’t what the man wanted to hear. The two had a wide ranging discussion, touching on health care, jobs, education and family life.

“At the end of the conversation, he said, ‘I am a lifelong Republican, I have never voted for a Democrat in my life. But because you were upfront and honest with me, that meant a lot,’” Evans said, adding that the man committed to getting friends and family to vote for the Democrat as well.