Bill would increase voter participation

Are you aware that 100 million people didn’t vote in the 2016 presidential election? This was 30 million more than voted for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Do you believe that the health of a democracy depends on the involvement of every citizen? If so, you should ask your state legislators to support L.D. 211, a bill to use semi-open primaries in Maine instead of party caucuses.

Maine is one of only 11 states (including a mix of red and blue states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania) that doesn’t hold semi-open or open primaries. This bill would allow Maine’s unenrolled voters to participate in the party primary of their choice; it would offer “unenrolleds,” the largest block of voters in Maine, a chance to be involved in choosing who they can vote for in the fall election.

Research shows that semi-open primaries increase voter turnout (look at the League of Women Voters website for this and more information on semi-open primaries).

Whether you call yourself a patriot, a citizen activist, or simply a believer in our way of government, you should want as many citizens voting as possible in an election. L.D. 211 is a small but important step in that direction.

Emanuel Pariser
Waterville

Related Stories