A recent letter to the editor of this paper (“Offer Mainers voter freedom – support top-two open primary” April 3) might have left some confusion about where the League of Women Voters stands on semi-open primaries. Let there be no mistake: we emphatically support L.D. 231 sponsored by Sen. Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro, to establish semi-open primaries in Maine.
The League of Women Voters of Maine defines a “semi-open” primary as a primary in which unenrolled/unaffiliated voters may vote on one ballot per primary without having to enroll in that particular political party. This protects the associational interests of unenrolled voters.
Voters enrolled in a political party can vote only on the ballot of their party. We believe that semi-open primaries foster broad citizen participation in primary elections while at the same time balancing the interests of major parties, small parties, and independent candidates and permitting political parties to perform their traditional functions.
We urge passage of LD 231.
Anna Kellar
League of Women Voters
Portland
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