The LWVME state board has adopted the following long-term advocacy priorities: Voting Rights, Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Election Administration, Ethics & Disclosure, Freedom of Information, and Good Government. The following issues will be taken up if a special opportunity presents itself: Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Climate Change, and Racial Justice.
For the 130th Legislature, 2021 - 2022, we testified all bills in our high-priority areas, defending against bills that run counter to our positions or our principles.
Highlights
- Equal Rights Constitutional Amendment (LD 344): Failed to advance in the Maine House. The federal ERA first passed in the 1970s by the U.S. Congress, but it was not ratified. Fifty years is a long time to wait to affirm equal gender rights. This bill would have brought the ERA to Maine. RIP.
Elections & Voting:
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Semi-open primaries (LD 231): Unenrolled voters will be permitted to cast one ballot in the primary of their choice. Republicans will not be able to vote in Democratic primaries, and Democrats will not be able to vote in Republican primaries. Signed in law! This bill was supported by LWVME based on our 2018 League Study. - Municipal Ranked Choice Voting (LD 859):This bill would allow towns to adopt RCV for municipal elections. Signed into law!
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Online voter registration (LD 1126): This was one of our highest priority bills this session. OVR would allow residents to securely and conveniently register to vote, and update their personal information, over the internet. Signed into law!
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Audits and election transparency (LD 1155): Maine joins 44 other states that have secure post-election audits. Gov. Mills' change package to the supplemental budget includes the funding for this bill! The budget passed and has been signed into law.
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Election Security (LD 1779): This bill will protect ballots after an election by ensuring they remain in the custody of our trusted election officials. It's an important backstop against actions that undermine election security by disrupting the chain of custody, as we have seen in Arizona and Colorado. Signed into law!
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National Popular Vote (LDs 1330 and 1384): Officially dead. Over the past few years, we’ve had countless conversations with supportive lawmakers and Mainers all over the state who want to ensure that every vote is equal. We'll continue to build momentum around NPV.
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The Secretary of State's housekeeping bill (LD 1363): Signed into law! This includes a lot of good stuff after the 2020 election, including expanding drop boxes and mandating absentee ballot cure procedures.
- An Act To Protect Election Integrity (LD 1779): This bill will protect ballots after an election by ensuring they remain in the custody of our trusted election officials. Signed into law!
- An Act to Protect Election Officials (LD 1821): This bill makes interfering with a public official performing an official function relating to a federal, state, or municipal election a Class D crime (misdemeanors), but they can be referred for prosecution to the Attorney General’s office. Signed into law!
Money in Politics:
- Corporate contribution ban (LD 1417): Signed into law! Prohibits corporations from donating to campaigns, leadership PACs, and caucus PACs. We testified on a number of bills with our partners at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections. For the full money in politics legislative roundup, read more here
Money in politics — Municipal Campaign Finance (LD 1658): This bill requires candidates or PACs in towns with populations over 50,000 to submit campaign finance reports to the Ethics Commission instead of the municipal clerk. It got a disastrous $1 million fiscal note. This one is still stuck on the Special Appropriations Table. We're not too hopeful.
Racial Justice:
The League also testified on several bills on racial justice issues, along with our partners in the Coalition on Racial Equity (CORE). Those bills included:
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Racial Impact Statements (LD 2): A racial impact statement, like a fiscal impact statement, is a tool to aid legislators in detecting unintended and unforeseen disparate impacts of proposed legislation prior to adoption and implementation. Signed into law!
Tribal Sovereignty Compromise (LD 585): This is the compromise bill negotiated between the tribes and the Governor to advance tribal rights while falling short of actual sovereignty. This bill was massively opposed by commercial gambling interests, but it was signed into law.
- Access to Clean Drinking Water (LD 906): This bill would give Passamaquoddy Tribal Members access to clean drinking water. Signed into law!
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Equity in Policy Making (LD 1610): This bill is a critical step toward improving demographic analysis and data sharing in Maine government so that we can create equitable and evidence-based policy. Signed into law! -
The Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (LDs 1568 and 1626): We supported both bills, with attention to protecting the voting rights of tribal members. LD 1626 has an unknown status, but it will likely die this session.
Working together:
Democracy Maine was the founding convener of Mainers for Modern Elections and remains a leader within that coalition. Mainers for Modern Elections is a coalition that is committed to ensuring that our right to vote safely transcends politics and partisanship. We advocate for safe, secure, modern elections. Our coalition is committed to securing equitable access to the ballot for every eligible Maine voter.
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