Take Action for RCV

In October, the legislature decided to disregard the votes that Mainers had cast for Ranked Choice Voting in the previous November election and put off any possible implementation until 2021. Those who had helped organize and pass the referendum raced to develop a People’s Veto and less than 15 hours before the election on Nov. 7, the Secretary of State approved the petitions and then hundreds of volunteers throughout Maine sat at the polls and collected approximately 34,000 signatures.

The problem is that they need over 61,000 and they need them fairly quickly. If they achieve that goal, then we will be able to use Ranked Choice Voting legally for our June primary so that Republicans and Democrats can choose their gubernatorial candidate. (Remember as of now there are 10 Democrat and five Republican hopefuls. )

There are petitioners out and about throughout the state. Please consider seeking them out and signing, or contact petition@rcvmaine.com and then reach out to neighbors and allow them to sign. It will help whether you get 10 signatures or 100.

If you are as tired as we are of having the referenda victories ignored by the governor, please take action.

Sandra & Ole Jaeger,

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Georgetown

RCV Will Heal Divisions

Phil Bartlett, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party, made a refreshing and forward looking statement recently, as reported by the Associated Press. He was asked about the news that two Democratic Party legislators had switched to the Green Independent Party: Ralph Chapman of Brooksville (House District 133) in September; and then in November Henry John Bear, Native American legislative representative. Bear had also, Nov. 24, announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress in the Second Congressional District as a newly enrolled Green.

Bartlett said, in response, “The two parties share a commitment to protecting Maine’s environment and advancing social and economic equality.” I fully agree with him that our two parties share important things and that in the present deleterious political situation in Trump’s Washington and LePage’s Augusta, we have every reason to go forward together.

Ranked Choice Voting — by eliminating spoilerism — will, and when it is finally adopted, greatly reduce the tensions that have strained relations between the Democratic Party and the Green Independent Party for decades. It will also, and this is crucial, give the voters a chance to vote on the merits of candidates and not on calculations of spoilerism and attendant partisan propaganda. The law should not be restricted to races for President, Congress and Senate but also applied to Governor, State House and State Senate, as Maine voters intended in last year’s Referendum.

I salute Phil Bartlett for sounding the note for better and creatively competitive relations to grow. Maine voters want this.

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John Rensenbrink,

Topsham,

Principal Founder and Senior

Advisor, Maine Green Independent Party

7 Strikes

In California if you are an American citizen it’s 3 strikes and your out . If you are an illegal alien it’s 7 strikes and take take your base.

Ernest Lamarre,

Brunswick



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