Action Under the Dome

BACK TO ALL NEWS
Monday, February 3, 2025
Jen Lancaster
 

It's Monday, February 3.

Our lobby day is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25 in Augusta. It's an important day for the League and our advocacy work. We bring together our members and community to learn how to speak with our legislators about issues important to us. In the afternoon we're hosting a panel on the harmful voter ID referendum happening in Maine, followed by tea at the Blaine House. If you were ever curious about how to lobby your legislator (they want to hear from their voters!) and how to take direct action on the League's priorities, be sure to sign up for Advocacy Day ASAP.
 
 

Do you have opinions on a bill? Anyone can submit testimony to be reviewed during a public hearing. Testimony gives committee members an idea of what Mainers think about the drafted legislation. You can submit written testimony or deliver testimony in-person in Augusta (or likely over Zoom). See our quick guide to writing testimony. Testimony can be submitted up to 30 minutes before a public hearing. 

Here are upcoming public hearings on priority bills:

Monday, February 3 // 10:00 AM // VLA Committee

  • LD 118: Expand Clean Elections — This bill expands the Clean Election program to include candidates running for sheriff and district attorney. The League will testify in support. We know that Clean Elections encourages more people to run for office and allows them to serve without being beholden to big donors or special interests.
  • LD 175: Amend Maine Constitution to Ensure only U.S. Citizens Vote — The bill amends Maine's Constitution to specify that only citizens of the U.S. are eligible to vote in any federal, state, or municipal election. Noncitizens already are not permitted to vote in elections. Shifting the text of the constitution could weaken rights for eligible voters, and for this important reason, we oppose this bill.
  • LD 234: Eliminate Ranked Choice Voting — Since 2011, the League has endorsed and fought for Ranked Choice Voting. We believe it gives more choice to voters and eliminates the spoiler effect. We oppose this bill. We encourage you to write testimony in opposition to this bill. See our quick guide.
 
 

Single-member districts might not deliver fair representation

A dozen of Maine’s cities and towns have established single-member districts for their municipal elections, and several others are considering this option in an effort to diversify their municipal government. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work.  

For example, Waterville has seven voting wards, each of which elect one representative to the Waterville City Council. All seven seats are held by Democrats, even though nearly a third of the folks in Waterville vote for Republicans. The problem is there are no districts with a Republican majority. 

Part two of our Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (pRCV) Study Guide describes a number of factors that can make it difficult – or even impossible – to draw fair districts. Learn more, and register for an introductory webinar at: www.lwvme.org/pRCV