Editor,
I am one of the 35 percent of registered voters in this State who are not enrolled in a political party. Under current law, as a taxpayer, I must pay to fund party primaries. Those primaries determine who the choices will be on Election Day. Yet I, as an un-enrolled voter, must pay for an election in which I have no voice. I can vote, however, if I go through the meaningless process of enrolling in a party for 90 days.
LD 211, co-sponsored by Senator Justin Chenette, is currently before the Legislature. The bill would allow un-enrolled voters to participate in one party primary without having to enroll in a party. A 2017 poll showed that 80 percent of Maine voters support opening party primaries. Unfortunately, some of our Legislators have ignored their constituents and are refusing to support LD 211.
The argument I hear is that the parties should have the right to choose their candidates. If there were no State involvement in primaries, I might agree. However, primaries are paid for by all taxpayers, they are mandated by the State, and candidates who lose in a primary are forbidden by the State to run in the general election. The State currently has a consequential say in how primaries are conducted. Given that, the exclusion of one third of voters is patently unfair.
Finally, current law allows an un-enrolled voter to participate if he/she pretends to be a party member for 90 days. What does anyone gain from that pretense except a lack of respect for the electoral process?
I urge you to contact your Legislators and ask them to support LD 211.
Cushing Samp
Saco
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