Still a problem: Voting machines in Maine's heavily populated metropolitan areas conceal the counting of the ballots, and unless additional procedures are implemented, violate Maine's own requirement to count in public. One no-cost, simple improvement: Add a step: As soon as polls close, deal the ballots out one by one allowing the public to videotape them if desired, so that the public can compare input to optical scan results. Because ballots are anonymous, this does not threaten political privacy, and this procedure would be legal in Maine simply by changing procedures, without new legislation. Even more transparent: Public hand counting of the ballots at the polling place, as is done now in many Maine locations. This year, the nation of Germany removed all voting machines and reverted to nationwide hand counting in order to honor the public right to examine the count.
3. MAINE'S CLEAN ELECTIONS LAW REDUCES CANDIDATE DEPENDENCY on donations by corporations and vested interests. Though not perfect, better than states like California, which had zealots and vested interests pumping millions into ballot issues in 2008, and some states have tainted processes for electing judges, with almost no campaign finance restrictions for those positions.
" Threats: Quite a lot of tinkering is being attempted with Maine's Clean Elections laws. Most of it dies, some of it passes. The tinkering consists of multiple proposals to adjust language and procedures; some may strengthen Maine's Clean Elections law, other proposals will weaken it. The sheer number of tweaks being proposed indicates that Maine's Clean Elections law is under attack, and warrants continued vigilance for those who support its purpose. You can view the many attempts to tinker with Clean Elections law here: http://janus.state.me.us/Legis/LawMakerWeb/advancedsearch.asp (enter the word "election" in the title or subject bar).
4. MAINE IS EXPANDING ETHICS LAWS. Newly passed legislation expands ethics actions into the executive branch of Maine's government, a step in the right direction. The bill was amended to stop short of implementation, recommending a study first. At least Maine is working on expansion of public rights to disclosure and ethics, while some other states are trying to roll back public rights and ethics. (Tennessee, working to close an ethics agency and New Hampshire, with a proposal that would exclude the executive branch from right to know laws.)
5. MAINE IS AVOIDING INTERNET AND PERMANENT ABSENTEE VOTING TRAPS. Several states are now trying to install "permanent absentee voting", "forced absentee voting," and Internet voting. Hawaii just had a dismal failure with Internet voting. Maine has so far held the line with "no excuse" absentee voting. As soon as this moves into recommendations for opt-in "permanent absentee" status, the wheels come off the checks and balances.
" Threats: Internet, permanent absentee, and forced absentee voting are being rolled out in cookie-cutter proposals in state after state. Black Box Voting has reviewed legislative proposals, and so far these risky procedures have not been proposed in Maine. Expect to see them in the future. Fight such proposals, because they produce elimination of the polling place and maximum concealment of essential election processes.
6. MAINE ALLOWS ACCESSIBLE 100 PERCENT HAND RECOUNTS AT AFFORDABLE PRICING. Even write-in candidates can purchase full hand recounts. A sliding scale, based on the margin of the win, allows very reasonable recounts for close races, and even the largest spread costs no more than $10,000.
7. MAINE HAD THE HIGHEST TURNOUT IN THE NATION IN 2008. Despite claims by states like Oregon and Washington, where forced mail-in voting is justified on the grounds that it is claimed to produce higher turnout, Maine had higher turnout with less absentee voting.
8. MAINE REQUIRES ID TO REGISTER TO VOTE, BUT ALSO ALLOWS SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. This bypasses the voter purge strategy. We have not examined compliance with the checks and balances for Maine's same-day registration, however. We note that in New Hampshire, checks and balances were poorly followed, and in some cases new Election Day registrants were dumped onto the rolls without even listing their addresses.
We will be interested in feedback from those with experience in Maine, to learn whether compliance is a problem.
* Thanks to Paul Lehto, a voting rights scholar and attorney, for providing expertise on phrasing and framing the issues
3. MAINE'S CLEAN ELECTIONS LAW REDUCES CANDIDATE DEPENDENCY on donations by corporations and vested interests. Though not perfect, better than states like California, which had zealots and vested interests pumping millions into ballot issues in 2008, and some states have tainted processes for electing judges, with almost no campaign finance restrictions for those positions.
" Threats: Quite a lot of tinkering is being attempted with Maine's Clean Elections laws. Most of it dies, some of it passes. The tinkering consists of multiple proposals to adjust language and procedures; some may strengthen Maine's Clean Elections law, other proposals will weaken it. The sheer number of tweaks being proposed indicates that Maine's Clean Elections law is under attack, and warrants continued vigilance for those who support its purpose. You can view the many attempts to tinker with Clean Elections law here: http://janus.state.me.us/Legis/LawMakerWeb/advancedsearch.asp (enter the word "election" in the title or subject bar).
4. MAINE IS EXPANDING ETHICS LAWS. Newly passed legislation expands ethics actions into the executive branch of Maine's government, a step in the right direction. The bill was amended to stop short of implementation, recommending a study first. At least Maine is working on expansion of public rights to disclosure and ethics, while some other states are trying to roll back public rights and ethics. (Tennessee, working to close an ethics agency and New Hampshire, with a proposal that would exclude the executive branch from right to know laws.)
" Threats: Internet, permanent absentee, and forced absentee voting are being rolled out in cookie-cutter proposals in state after state. Black Box Voting has reviewed legislative proposals, and so far these risky procedures have not been proposed in Maine. Expect to see them in the future. Fight such proposals, because they produce elimination of the polling place and maximum concealment of essential election processes.
6. MAINE ALLOWS ACCESSIBLE 100 PERCENT HAND RECOUNTS AT AFFORDABLE PRICING. Even write-in candidates can purchase full hand recounts. A sliding scale, based on the margin of the win, allows very reasonable recounts for close races, and even the largest spread costs no more than $10,000.
7. MAINE HAD THE HIGHEST TURNOUT IN THE NATION IN 2008. Despite claims by states like Oregon and Washington, where forced mail-in voting is justified on the grounds that it is claimed to produce higher turnout, Maine had higher turnout with less absentee voting.
8. MAINE REQUIRES ID TO REGISTER TO VOTE, BUT ALSO ALLOWS SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. This bypasses the voter purge strategy. We have not examined compliance with the checks and balances for Maine's same-day registration, however. We note that in New Hampshire, checks and balances were poorly followed, and in some cases new Election Day registrants were dumped onto the rolls without even listing their addresses.
We will be interested in feedback from those with experience in Maine, to learn whether compliance is a problem.
* Thanks to Paul Lehto, a voting rights scholar and attorney, for providing expertise on phrasing and framing the issues
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
