Maine has a great voting tradition. The state has a history of making that sacred right very accessible. For 38 years that has included same-day registration. But, this year, GOPers took over both house of the legislature -- and there's a nutjob teabagger serving as Governor. Access to voting is an anathema to GOPers, so they voted to end that practice. But, Maine also has a people's veto. A coalition of groups are gathering signatures to put the same-day voting ban on the ballot:
Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill Tuesday to repeal Maine's 38-year-old law allowing same-day voter registration. Before the end of the day, a coalition led by the League of Women Voters of Maine filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office to launch a people's veto campaign.I really hope this makes gets on the ballot. The campaign's website is www.protectmainevotes.com
"We feel that we want to preserve voting rights in Maine," said Barbara McDade, president of the league. "For 38 years, people have been able to register to vote on the day that they vote. This puts up a barrier to people, and so we want to repeal that."
Joining McDade was Bob Talbot, representing the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the Maine NAACP, and Evert Fowle III of the MCLU.
Mike Tipping explains:
