I don’t want barriers to our citizens voting in the state of Maine. Republican politicians keep repeating the same line about fraud and “vulnerabilities” in Maine’s voting system, but those claims are misleading.

Even the leading proponents of the change to curtail Maine voters, Secretary of State Charles Summers and Maine Republican Party chairman Charles Webster, have found no real voter fraud.

What they found was one non-citizen who voted in 2002 and cited this as proof Maine’s voting system needs improvement.

Both men want to stop certain groups from voting: out-of-state college students, the poor, the elderly, etc. Summers states five college students voted in two states, but not the same elections. He said it was not a violation of the law, but he is not sure how patriotic it was. This man talks about patriotism?

As the secretary of state, Summers is supposed to ensure that all voters are treated fairly. In fact, he follows the Republican line like a toady.

I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats, and I voted for Margaret Chase Smith in my first election.

My father could not understand how I could do that. It was easy. Her honesty and integrity spoke to me. But I cannot ever vote for a candidate who would lie and take rights from any citizen of the state of Maine and say it is for their good, including Paul LePage, Summers, Webster and the other department heads in the administration, but in particular the Republican senators and representatives who are puppets to those above and cast votes to deprive our citizens of their right to vote.

Joyce Bushey

Oakland