BIDDEFORD – For those curious about opening Maine’s primaries to unenrolled voters, Open Primaries Maine is hosting an informational meeting 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday Feb. 28, at Dirigo Brewing on Pearl Street.

The meeting will focus on the initiative to change the state policy that only enrolled voters – those who identify as either Democratic or Republican –can participate in state-level primaries.

The event is hosted by Open Primaries Maine, an organization that wants to change the policy prior to the 2020 elections by passing bill LD 211, “An Act to Open Maine’s Primaries and Permit Unenrolled Voters to Cast Ballots in Primary Elections” in the 129th Maine Legislature, which reads “A registered voter not enrolled in a political party may participate, subject to the restrictions of section 144, in a party’s primary election without enrolling in that political party. An unenrolled voter may vote in only one party’s primary election. The Secretary of State shall establish procedures to ensure that each voter voting in a party’s primary election is offered a ballot for that primary election.”

The bill was scheduled to be heard before the House of Representatives in January, however is being rescheduled due to weather.

The event will allow attendees the opportunity to ask questions regarding the bill and what the change will mean to voters in Maine.

“This is one of the first public events we’re holding, and it’s a great opportunity to ask questions,” said Open Primaries Campaign Manager Kaitlin LaCasse during a Feb. 15 interview. “We’ve held two so far, in Ellsworth and Falmouth, and they’ve been very successful.”

In Maine, 35 percent of all voters are unenrolled, choosing to not identify with a particular party. For millennial voters ages 23 to 38, 50 percent choose to register as independent, and 49 percent of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan choose to be unenrolled.

“All taxpayers pay for the primaries, including unenrolled voters,” LaCasse said. “Everyone should be able to participate.”

Maine is one of 11 states in the United States that holds closed primaries.

Appearing at the meeting as a host is former District 12 state representative Marty Grohman. Grohman changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent in 2017, and ran in 2018 for Maine’s 1st Congressional District as an Independent.

“As an Independent, this is definitely near to my heart,” Grohman said. “Unenrolled voters should be allowed to participate in the process.”

Should LD 211 be approved by the House of Representatives, unenrolled voters arriving at their polling place will be given an option between the two parties’ primary ballots and be able to fill whichever one they chose, and only the ballot they chose. Unenrolled voters will not be allowed to fill out the ballots for both parties.

This change will only be affected by those positions that hold primaries, such as Congress and Senate seats. As Maine is a caucus state, the change would not be applicable to the presidential preliminaries unless the state was to revert back to a primary process.

According to LaCasse, the move to open the primaries has gathered traction for some time, with a 2017 poll revealing that 80 percent of Maine voters were in support. Sponsors of the bill include Rep. Kent Ackley (I-Monmouth), and co-sponsor Sen. Justin Chenette (D-Saco), as well as Sen. Matt Pouliot (R-Augusta), Rep. Genevieve McDonald (D-Stonington), Rep. David McCrea (D-Fort Fairfield), Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos (I-Friendship), Rep. Norman Higgins (I-Dover-Foxcroft), Rep. Don Marean (I-Hollis), Rep. Bill Pluecker (I-Warren), and Rep. Walter Riseman (I-Harrison).

This event is not a fundraiser, rather an opportunity for those interested to find out more information about the movement to open the primaries.

“This will be a night where we can all just talk and have a beer in a laid back setting,” Grohman said.

For Grohman, inclusivity to all voters will bring about more moderate, centralist voices.

“We need more people in government who want to do the actual work of governing, as opposed to just doing the work of politicking,” Grohman said.

For more information about Maine Open Primaries, visit www.openprimariesmaine.com, or email info@openprimariesmaine.com to get involved.

Contact Staff Writer Abigail Worthing at news@inthecourier.com.

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