I would like to thank the Lakes Region Weekly for the opportunity to write this column. I represent District 102 in the Maine House of Representatives, which includes most of Standish. I truly appreciate any opportunities to communicate with Standish residents and as always, please feel free to contact me anytime by e-mail or phone.
Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and we must do everything we can to not only protect that right, but to also encourage our citizens to exercise it. Voting laws evolve with the changing needs of the citizens of our state. Not long ago you voted on Election Day or you didn’t vote at all. Then came absentee voting and now you can go as far as requesting an absentee ballot online. Early voting is the next step in the ever-evolving voting process.
While many believe that Maine already has a system of early voting, what we actually have is in-person absentee voting. In-person absentee voting is not true early voting. Early voting is a system where a municipality, who chooses to participate, would set up voting booths for a limited time before Election Day. Citizens would vote and run their ballot through the ballot machine themselves on the day that was most convenient for them to vote.
Early voting by absentee is a process where ballots are issued at the town hall, voted then folded up and placed in an envelope, signed on the outside of the envelope by the voter then held aside to be cast by the town clerk on Election Day. The high number of absentee ballots in recent elections has put great strain on our clerks, who already face the pressure of preparing for the large number of people who will vote on Election Day. Citizens would still be able to access absentee ballots by mail.
Many people find it difficult to vote when limited to one day. Many citizens work nights or two jobs. Seniors may have limited mobility could find it difficult to make it to the polls on a specific day. The weather could make travel hard for many. Elections are also right in the middle of hunting season. Meanwhile the number of Mainers casting absentee ballots has skyrocketed. In some towns, absentee ballots make up 60 percent of all ballots cast.
The answer to this problem should not limit a person’s ability to vote. Instead, we must seek out a solution that will both alleviate the burden on our election officials and encourage as many qualified Mainers to vote as possible. Early voting is that answer. It will allow greater access to the polls and votes will be cast and counted instantly. This will relieve clerks of the tasks of both unfolding and feeding ballots into a voting machine or hand counting them on Election Day.
Early voting has been tested in pilot programs across Maine with great success. The first programs were tested in Portland, Bangor and Readfield in 2007 and later in Augusta, Bangor, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gorham, Hallowell, Saco, Scarborough and Standish in 2009. In those towns, voters welcomed the expanded access and convenience to the ballot and election officials expressed appreciation for the relief early voting brought from processing ever-increasing numbers of absentee ballots on Election Day. Town Clerks may by law run absentee ballots during the election or in some cases the day before. The process of unfolding and running thousands of absentee ballots during an election takes valuable resources away from other tasks that the clerks, such as making sure that every voter has a positive experience.
This led me to propose an amendment to our state’s Constitution concerning early voting. LD 156 would allow early voting in Maine, giving municipalities the option to opt in. If the 126th Legislature passes the amendment, it would appear on your ballot in November. If it then received more than 50 percent of the vote, our state’s Constitution would be amended. Details would be worked out only after the amendment was passed such as how many days early voting would be allowed.
Mainers take great pride in performing their civic duty through voting. Our goal should be making the process as easy as possible. I believe early voting can only improve the voting process in our state.
State Rep. Mike Shaw, D-Standish, is sponsoring a bill to allow early voting.
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