News Articles

This month, as we do each election year, we will preview the upcoming elections and provide information about the ballot questions, which races will use ranked choice voting, how and when to vote, etc.

Our guests are Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders, authors of the recent book, Rewiring Democracy, presenting an informative and wide-ranging exploration of how AI will alter every facet of democracy, and how to harness the technology to distribute rather than concentrate power. We've invited them bring us up to date on new developments since their book came out and to talk to us about initiatives the League could pursue to achieve the goal of a stronger, more participatory democracy.

It's been five years since we did a show on our two-party system and the future of American democracy. But the topic is still very much of interest. Party membership is declining, and both major parties seem to be suffering from voter frustration and anger. With a functioning democracy hanging by a thread, is the two-party system still the best way to govern?

Today, the League of Women Voters of Maine mourns the loss of a Biddeford community member.

We’ll talk about the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We'll cover the struggle to depoliticize the civil service going back to the end of the nineteenth century. We're now seeing the ranks of civil servants slashed, with some positions converted into political appointments. Where is this heading? What are the risks?

Maine’s June 9 primary election will conclude with successful tabulations in several statewide Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) races this evening.

The League of Women Voters of Maine deployed nonpartisan volunteer election observers to provide real time reports from various polling locations in towns around the state.

Today, a federal judge dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Maine after the state refused to hand over its complete voter file.

We’ll talk about taxes and democracy. Everyone complains about paying taxes. But what if we need taxation if we want the benefits of democracy? If democracy costs money, who should pay for it? Author Vanessa Williamson argues that some of the most important battles that shape our democracy hinge on one issue—taxes. How has that played out in our history. How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine?

Mass surveillance constitutes a threat to free speech. Commercial and government surveillance infrastructure has grown and continues to grow, encompassing license plate readers, location tracking, and facial recognition and other biometric data. How do these invasions of privacy threaten free speech? What protections should individuals and civil society adopt to protect civil liberties?