Letters: We need to all be vaccinated, Proposed referendum may close election loophole

We need to all be vaccinated

I’m grateful that the Maine CDC and the Press Herald diligently report COVID case rates and hospitalizations. But I think we are all woefully uninformed about the effect of high COVID case rates on our access to medical care. For example, how overwhelmed are the Emergency Departments of our hospitals? How long are you going to wait to have your broken wrist set? Do I have to worry about a kidney stone attack turning into a fatal kidney infection? Where are the reports on the average wait to be seen at your local hospital?

Not knowing how our care is affected makes it easier to pretend that the COVID Crisis is overblown. But when you spend hours and hours waiting to be seen in an ER because it is overrun with COVID patients, the crisis becomes all too clear.

We need to all be vaccinated. We all need to do everything we can to stop the infections.

Mary Brennan,
Harpswell

Proposed referendum may close election loophole

Here in Maine, we’re incredibly fortunate to have the ability to come together to directly advance policy that’s in the best interest of our residents and our state.

Unfortunately, a dangerous loophole within our campaign finance law was recently exposed as a foreign government-owned corporation openly spent $24 million through a PAC to influence the outcome of a Maine referendum that was initiated by more than 80,000 Maine voters. Regardless of how you voted on Question 1, now that a foreign government successfully exploited this loophole, the door is wide open to influence from far beyond our international borders, and a recent FEC ruling has made it more important than ever for Maine residents to band together to protect Maine elections.

That’s why Protect Maine Elections, a nonpartisan group with support from across the political spectrum, is currently in the field collecting signatures to qualify a referendum for the ballot.

We need to collect at least 80,000 signatures by the end of the year to qualify a referendum for the November 2022 ballot to:

Eliminate campaign spending by foreign governments in Maine elections;

Require media companies to disclose illegal spending by foreign governments;

Mandate disclosure by foreign governments on issue advertisements; and,

Reaffirm Maine’s support for an anti-corruption amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

For more information about this effort, or to volunteer, visit protectmaineelections.com.
Let’s band together to ensure that Maine elections are reserved for Maine residents.

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