I was born to Turkish parents and raised in Pakistan. I am American.

I feel a deep sense of responsibility in helping to protect our democracy. Perhaps because I grew up under a dictatorship that had its boot on the jugular of a populace, I intimately know what happens if a democracy isn’t cared for and protected.

Our democracy is worth protecting. This is a country where I, Turkish-Pakistani-American, am in a position to see the benefits of choice and freedom, and where reasonable people can disagree without fear of retribution. It is also a democracy which contains multitudes, is fragile and requires constant vigilance and nurturing.

One of the most urgent threats to our democracy today is the influence of money in politics. I know this in my bones, and the data shows that Maine voters agree – as do voters around the country.

If we are to be a functional society we have to believe in the social contract which is the underpinning of democracy. Democracy suffers when there is unfettered and unchecked spending in our elections by companies whose agenda is far from participating in the social contract; rather it is a misbegotten servitude to self-interest and selfish agendas. This is even more true when those companies are owned and influenced by foreign governments.

Right now, our democracy is vulnerable to such influence from foreign governments. While foreign governments are not permitted to contribute to candidate campaigns, the Federal Elections Commission ruled that the same does not apply to state referendum campaigns, creating a dangerous loophole that allows foreign government spending in referendum campaigns unless explicitly prohibited by state law.

In other words, there is currently state-sanctioned foreign interference in Maine referendum campaigns, the very tool with which Maine voters can directly affect state law.

Fortunately, the voters of Maine have initiated a bill – L.D. 1610, “An Act To Prohibit Campaign Spending by Foreign Governments and Promote an Anticorruption Amendment to the United States Constitution” – that will close this loophole and protect our elections from foreign government interference and dark money special interest groups.

In November 2022, Protect Maine Elections – the campaign formed to support the initiative – submitted the signatures of over 80,000 Mainers to the secretary of state, who subsequently certified the petitions.

Now, the 131st Legislature has the opportunity to pass the bill outright or send it to the November 2023 ballot. I respectfully ask that the Legislature pass this initiative outright. If you agree that we should protect our elections from foreign government interference, please contact your legislators and ask them to vote in support of L.D 1610.

I am a fervent supporter of the Protect Maine Elections effort because as a member of society I have a moral, ethical and financial obligation to uphold the principles that bind us together: transparency, fairness, equity, representation and inclusion.

Furthermore, this effort is essential for the business community; a successful outcome ensures a commercial ecosystem that is not blackened by the soot of self-serving ego. To have an economy inclusive of New Mainers and foreign investment that is participatory, equitable and empowering means protecting our democracy from destabilization from foreign governments that are not aligned with our societal goals.

The Protect Maine Elections campaign aims to answer a simple question: Should we allow foreign governments to disrupt our democracy? Surely the answer must be no.

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