I was distressed to see the photo of Andrew Roth-Wells on your front page last week, although really it was a very nice picture of him (“GOP: Ballot counter biased,” Nov. 13). What upset me was the GOP’s baseless accusation that he was a “biased” vote counter of the 2nd Congressional District ballots.

I have known Andrew since high school, which as I recall was about 217 years ago. In all that long time, he has been, yes, a partisan and a passionate believer, but also an honest and ethical person.

In the 25 years I’ve been involved in politics and interacted with the Secretary of State’s Office, many town clerks and other election officials, I have complete confidence that Maine Democrats or Republicans can conduct themselves ethically and honestly in election business. Bruce Poliquin and Jason Savage don’t appear to know it, but that is the Maine way.

Perhaps this is what the psychologists call “projection.” Perhaps Poliquin and Savage cannot imagine that someone from an opposing party would treat them fairly because they cannot imagine themselves acting in that way.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap and his office have demonstrated their integrity and professionalism many times. There are good people in Maine, of both parties, who want to protect the legitimacy of our elections and our democratic processes, not break them, as the GOP is doing so often lately. I trust those good people to count the ballots honestly. There are other people whom I would not trust to count out my change at the gas station.

Matt Scease

Hallowell

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