A better business
My adult working life has been spent at the Prospect Harbor waterfront site, now home to the Live Lobster processing facility. Mr. Bussone is my fifth employer at this site.
Herring, or sardines, was the primary product, but as quotas got smaller and subsidized competition got larger, Maine’s once-vibrant herring industry died.
The shock of suddenly not having a job hit us all. The burden to federal, state, counties and local communities in the form of unemployment benefits, rent and food vouchers, retraining and health care were costly and lasted over a year for most of the 128 unemployed.
Mr. Bussone has re-employed 75 workers and we support his vision to add value by processing lobster to rival any other country’s exports. Maine lobster is renowned for its superiority in taste and public appeal.
We can argue the point of government stimulus packages being sought to support this economic growth in Down East Maine but that time is at the voting booth before packages are funded and qualifications published for business applications.
This is a win for us in the work force for long-term employment with health care benefits, economic benefits for fishermen, economic community benefits and advertising of a Maine product ensuring statewide industry benefits.
Thank you, Bangor Daily News, for printing our side of the story.
Diana Young
Winter Harbor
Inhumane cuts
Echoing across the great state of Maine from the governor’s office are more negative vibrations, aimed this time at 65,000 Mainers receiving assistance through MaineCare. We have been advised that these individuals, because DHHS has a shortfall in their budget, are going to be cut from the rolls.
It is obvious to we Mainers that DHHS is in need of a thorough review of its budgeting and operational procedures. The governor has made it clear how he wants to go about solving these DHHS issues. Let me remind the governor that we have a legislature of very intelligent, caring and knowledgeable men and women who are more than willing to work collaboratively with the LePage administration to find ways to improve the budget and procedural rules that govern the operation of DHHS.
The governor’s proposal to cut 65,000 Maine people from MaineCare rolls is extremely shortsighted. It will ultimately be harmful to the Maine economy because of subsequent layoffs of some DHHS employees.
Also, as a result of an increase in emergency room visits by those no longer on the rolls who are unable to afford regular doctor appointments, Mainers will face increased health insurance premiums as unpaid hospital medical care increases their expenses. Increased health care insurance costs will leave Maine residents with less disposable income with which to stimulate our weakened economy.
All in all the governor’s proposal is not viable and is an inhumane act directed at its residents most in need.
Bob Chaplin
Bar Harbor
Considering Carlson
Let us begin with the finding that one out of four of us has been sexually molested as a child. This is more than 75 million Americans. This suggests that there are many millions of molesters and predators.
Most go unpunished because they devote much energy into deception. They deceive at every turn in manufacturing these 75 million victims. The older they are, the longer they have been able to practice and perfect their deceptions.
They put themselves in trusted positions to have access to their victims. They work hard to become pillars of their communities; the trusted ones. Carlson seems to fit this profile perfectly.
It is our obligation to investigate the potential victims, assuming they are to be found.
What may be most important is that we focus on victims and the real nature of these misdeeds; how they mark us, the 75 million, forever, and how one finds it difficult to trust and to cope. We should not focus so much on what Carlson may have done to all those he deceived; how “good” we thought he was and how he may have let us down. It is about the victims, not us and our vanities.
Pierre Woog
Eastport
Overhaul MaineHousing
Under Dale McCormick’s reign, MaineHousing is a financial disaster for taxpayers. She should resign immediately.
Recent examples of profligacy are: $15,000 for theater classes for prison inmates and $140,000 in cash bonuses for employees while LIHEAP recipients are desperate for winter fuel aid. This is particularly egregious insofar as MaineHousing administers the LIHEAP program.
These examples pale in comparison to the waste in low-income housing projects completed, while 6,500 people wait in line for affordable housing. MaineHousing construction costs range from $240 to $537 per square foot for studios and small apartments. Rich folks pay these prices for houses in the Hamptons or Seal Harbor. Where are the 99 percent protesters on this example of “corporate greed”?
There are 5,400 individual properties for sale in Maine between $1 and $175,000. Some are “teardowns,” but many could be rehabilitated for less than $125 per square foot. Maine’s 16 regional housing authorities should initiate a pilot program to build new or rebuild properties in Maine’s rural communities devastated by recession. This would benefit underemployed local building contractors, other trades and increase sales and income tax revenue as well as put a floor under real estate values while repopulating rural towns.
Investment in affordable housing needs to be widely dispersed and the behemoth in Augusta needs to be downsized and its operations rationalized. Legislative oversight, accountability, transparency and integrity are part of a necessary overhaul.
Dudley Gray
Rangeley Plantation
Voting threats continue
Debbie Alexander’s Jan. 12 letter to the editor, expressing frustration with our government and ending with “‘the little people’ really have no recourse except their one vote,” begs the response that across the country — including possibly Maine — “one vote” is going to be increasingly difficult or impossible to cast.
This wave of voter suppression in its many forms has been researched by the Brennan Center for Justice and is available in its report “Voting Changes in 2012: A Wave of New Laws,” which is available online at brennancenter.org/votingchanges2012.
In Maine, the legislative action to eliminate same-day voter registration was overwhelmingly defeated by referendum. A photo ID bill did not get through the Legislature last session. But again, in this session, the photo ID bill is being considered. This bill, LD 199, should be carefully and thoughtfully watched.
Linda Hoskins
Blue Hill
Dudley Gray – The governor continues his vendetta against Ms. McCormick. Very transparent.
Have you seen the list of vendors the MSHA sent money to? There is something going on there that could rival the MTA. It’s not a personal thing about McCormick, unless you count demanding an account of how taxpayer money was spent by the administrating official a personal vendetta.
We’ll see.
Did you see the lack of dates associated with those vendors? I mean, really, now. We don’t even know if she was Executive Director then. I mean can you imagine, the fallacy of associating all those vendors, all the way back to 1998, to her watch. I mean, REALLY, it’s not like Maine State Housing Authority gets audited multiple times a year by the feds, probably because Maine State Housing is using THEIR money. Gee, Wally, you’d think the feds would have seen something illegal all this time.
Ms. Hoskins, you are correct about the anti-democratic nature of a demand for voter photo IDs. I have worked the polls enough times to know that many elderly residents who have voted all their lives, but no longer drive, would be disenfranchised by this legislation. The legislation would also cost the State significant monies, as it is required to provide the ID at no cost to avoid the ID requirement being a hidden poll tax, which our Constitution outlaws. There is only one reason for voter photo IDs: to game the elections for an advantage to the Republicans.
Sadly, Bangor State Senator Farnham pushed voter photo IDs hard in the last legislative session, saying that she had to show a photo ID to rent a movie! Renting a movie is a privilege, while voting is a fundamental right. Would Senator Farnham demand a photo ID before anyone could get married or speak out in public?
Where do you get this information? Last time I heard any from Senator Farnham, she didn’t seem like she was “pushing hard” for that legislation. Do you have some facts to share?
June 13, 2011 Maine Public Radio broadcast (http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/16758/Default.aspx)
“Republican Sen. Nichi Farnum, of Bangor, said many Mainers are already used to showing photo Ids for various purposes. She says the new voting policy would not be onerous. ‘We need a photo ID when we’re renting movies, we need a photo ID to use our own money in a lot of cases in our banks, we need a photo ID when we’re cashing a check and we need a photo ID when we’re doing certain purchases. And I would say any of those things are not half as important as proving our identity when we go to vote. That’s not asking too much. If anything, why aren’t we doing it now? A lot of us expect to do it.'”
You can’t push much harder than that. Nichi, were she asked to testify in a court of law, would not have to show a photo ID, she would simply have to take an oath. Any prospective voter who has just moved signs a similar affidavit of residency under oath.
Nichi would rather that that person not vote so that her party might gain a small electoral advantage. She wants to make a fundamental right a privilege. It is anti-democratic and contrary to Lincoln’s ideal of a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Thanks for posting. I had not seen that, and she raises great points. I have an ID and I show it multiple times a day. Seems like common sense to me. It’s a little suspicious that somebody would oppose it. What are you trying to hide?
Also, your link doesn’t work, but I’ll take your word for it. I just looked for more information on this, and realized that she is the committee chair for the committee the bill came out of. With my rough understanding of our legislative system, I don’t think it is uncommon for the committee chairs to report on what the committee reported on. So, again, I don’t know if she was “pushing hard”, or just presenting the findings of the committee.
There were no committee findings. There has been a single case of voter fraud in Maine that I can recall: someone who voted in two different towns. Google MPBN and voter photo ID and you will find the story from which I quoted Nichi’s words.
Again, I don’t disagree with what she said. The committee has to vote on the issue, and there was discussion in the committee about the bill, so it makes sense that she, like most committee chairs, would let other know the outcome of the bill in committee.
We should hold her responsible for her votes and her words. She also voted to repeal same day voter registration, with which 61 % of Mainers disagreed. You may praise her loyalty to her party. I would rather that she be loyal to democracy.
Only one case of voter fraud proven.
Since anyone can register to vote anywhere they want and no records are compared between towns, etc. there is not even a good way to investigate this crime. This is one area where prevention is much easier than detecting the fraud afterward.
I have helped register hundreds of new voters on election day over the years. It is apparent that you have not. Proof of identity and residence in a variety of ways suffices, but must be supplied. I have accepted a social security card and a bill showing that the person now lives in Maine in the precinct I am working. Nichi’s bill imposes a one size fits all mandatory requirement which must, because of the Constitution, be produced and issued by the state at significant cost to the state.
The Town Clerk then informs the place of last registration that the voter has registered in a new location. If it turns out the person double-voted, the old town will quickly become aware of that fact. That is how the one case of double voting was discovered and prosecuted in this state.
No wonder there is so much voter fraud with people like you accepting any old bill as proof of residency. And we all know how hard it is to get a fake social security card….
As for that “Town Clerk then informs the place of last registration that the voter has registered in a new location”. Yeah, Right….
If that was true then why are several relatives of mine who moved away YEARS ago still on the voter list in my town? Voter lists are notoriously out of date and inaccurate.
Maine statute identifies acceptable proof, not the town clerk or her assistants. The Republican Secretary of State tried all last year to find a single case of voter fraud. He found none. If you still believe in “so much voter fraud” you have bought into a fraudulent lie.
I am trying to make sure that we have maximum voter participation. Those who don’t drive are unlikely to have photo IDs. Anyone who has moved since they last renewed their driver’s license (which is only re-issued every six years) will not have a photo ID with the correct residence listed. Either voter, despite sworn affidavits of residency and proof that they live where they claim in the form of bills, etc., will be barred from voting under Nichi’s bill.
My great great grandfather fought and almost died so that African American men could vote. My grandfather proudly marched for women’s suffrage. The Republican Party unanimously supported same day voter registration in Maine a generation ago. I am not trying to hide anything.
Must you show a photo ID to speak in the public square? Must you show a photo ID to get married? What don’t you understand about fundamental rights?
I am not trying to hide anything but an abiding belief in government by all of the people, not government by those more likely to vote Republican. There is no problem of voter fraud. Requiring voter photo IDs is a solution is search of a problem. Nichi’s bill is intended only to make it harder to vote for younger voters who move a lot, or poorer voters who don’t drive. Nichi knows those people are not likely to vote for her.
Again, I guess I don’t see what you’re talking about. Besides the fact that she’s the Senate chair in the committee, I don’t see why else you keep referring to it as “Nichi’s bill”. Other than that, I think you are completely over-exaggerating this issue.
Well, if we repealed the amendment that allows women to vote, would you get excited about the issue? Why should we discourage people from voting? Do you feel some voters are more equal than others? There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
Discouraging people by making sure they’re voting? I guess I have more hope in people than you do. Putting people down and thinking that people don’t know how to look out for themselves is extremely hurtful.
How does turning a voter away from the polls because their photo ID doesn’t satisfy Nichi “make sure they’re voting.” I have had a photo ID driver’s license that shows my old address. Would you stop me from voting because I didn’t spend two hours at motor vehicles getting a new ID? 61 % of Mainers voted to preserve same day voter registration last November. Spare your faux sympathy for those whose ID doesn’t satisfy Nichi. You are a distinct minority of the easily fooled.
Getting that new license is not as hard as you make out. Got mine on line with the new address. Took less time than you have spent with your hyperbole on this issue. Why shouldn’t everyone have to prove who they are and that they actually live in the precinct where they are voting?
Because voting is a fundamental right, like free speech and the right to marry.
IDs are already required at the voting booth as well as some form of proof of residency (a bill addressed to you or an affidavit). This law demands only one acceptable form of proof, one that will be expensive for a cash-strapped government to provide. I was able to register and vote in my new town by showing my driver’s license with my old address and a copy of my first electricity bill. How is that not sufficient proof?
I cannot find any mention of a right to marry in the constitution. I guess you follow a different constitution than most of us do. Or do you just make up out of thin air parts that you think should be there?
The point is that IDs are not presently required at the voting booth. And an affidavit can be faked.
And NO, a driver’s license with my old address and a copy of my first electricity bill is not proof of residency. I did own a small house in another town before selling it. It was a second house, not my legal residence. Should I have been able to walk into the town office and register to vote there because I want to?
Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court decision outlawing Virginia’s statute barring interracial marriage, held that the right to marriage was one of the fundamental rights preserved from state encroachment by the 14th Amendment. Federal encroachment on the right to marriage would be barred by the Ninth Amendment, although that issue has not been presented to the Supreme Court.
An affidavit is under oath and subject to prosecution for perjury. IDs are required, but not photo IDs. I have registered voters, I know this for a fact. Every new registration triggers a notice to the Town you were formerly registered at.
The Republicans tried all last year to find a single case of voter fraud. They struck out.
And that affidavit is absolutely worthless unless you keep and file a copy as well as doing something to verify it.
I presume you now accept the point of Constitutional law you so foolishly questioned. Affidavits on election day are public records and copies of them can be obtained by your party and they can try to prove the fraud. It would be easy to prove if it existed. You would need only go to the residence listed and determine who lives there. Your party doesn’t do this because they know there is no fraud. They are pleased, however, to have fooled you. As Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Getting it online works only if your town is set up to do that. Many are not.
You do it directly on the Maine State web site. Your town has nothing to do with it.
Not from my research at the BMV website. Admittedly, I no longer see reference that some towns are not yet participating—-that is good, they may have finally caught up but you do need to be there in person for an initial “digital” license:
http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/licenses/renewal.html
ADDITIONALLY, MANY MAY HAVE TO TAKE A VISION TEST AT ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS, or bring a certificate from your eye doctor.
The only thing that is done online is this:
http://www.maine.gov/online/bmv/dlr/
“Welcome to Rapid Renewal…the online service that allows you to renew your driver’s license or Maine ID card or purchase a replacement driver’s license or ID card at any time, day or night.
Who Can Use This Service? Any Maine licensed driver with an active digital license, digital motorcycle license or digital motor driven cycle restricted license and any holder of a digital Maine ID card. This service is not available for commercial driver license holders. Please review the frequently asked questions for more information on eligibility requirements.”
Simply put, yes I would. The requirement is simple, direct and legal. If you can’t do something as simple as keep a license current perhaps you need to pay a little closer attention. ID to vote should be a requirement and any thinking individual knows the only reason that it has been allowed to degenerate to the point that it has is because the democrats rely on the illegal vote to maintain thier base.
You are in a distinct minority of Mainers. You misunderstand the law: one need only notify the SOS of an address change and need not get the new address stated on the license. I met the legal requirements. Maine law now would accept the license as proof of who I am and demand supplemental proof of where I currently live. There is no need to change that law in the absence of any proof of voter fraud and in the face of the increased expense to the state of issuing free current IDs that would be necessitated by Nichi’s law. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
The Republican Secretary of State tried all last year to find a single case of voter fraud. He failed. There is no illegal vote. Do you still think we found WMD in Iraq and that Saddam was behind 9/11? P.T. Barnum would love you: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
I stand by the comment. If you can’t be responsible enough to keep a license current you probably need to be more responsible. And how this relates to Iraq and WMD is beyond me. Clearly you are a left wing fanatic that feels the illegal alien vote is necessary to keep democrats in power and want to continue to see the Us marginalized throughout the world. And while we’re at it if you actually had an informed opinion you would identify yourself. Hiding behind a screen name only serves to marginalize your opinion.
I think it’s funny that you think using your real name makes you the bigger man here. Just an observation.
Once again, only a coward is afraid to identify themselves
________________________________
From: Disqus
To: bobsousa71@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2012 10:57 AM
Subject: [bdn] Re: Friday, Jan. 20, 2012: Live Lobster, Maine Housing and voting rights
Disqus generic email template
luvGSD wrote, in response to Bob_Sousa:
I think it’s funny that you think using your real name makes you the bigger man here. Just an observation. Link to comment
So everyone commenting here is a coward except you. Seeing as how this is an anonymous forum you’re kind of off base. But people like you don’t care about whether they’re right or wrong in spite of what’s going on right in front of their eyes. Am I right Bob? Enjoy your false sense of superiority and have a nice day.
If you don’t update your address on your license when you move, you are breaking the law.
Incorrect. One must inform Motor Vehicles of the address change but is not required to purchase a new license. Read the statute.
…and, if you want the little stickers with your new address you pay $5.00. (could be a poll tax)
§1401. Contents of license
1. Required information. A license must state, at a minimum, the name, date of birth, place of residence or mailing address if different from the residence, of the licensee and the permanent number assigned to that licensee. A name displayed on a license must be as the name appears on a birth certificate or a court order or as the result of marriage. [ 1995, c. 482, Pt. A, §24 (AMD) .]
You have cited the initial requirements for a license. 29-A M.R.S.A. section 1407 applies when there has been a change in address: the licensee “shall, within 30 days, notify the Secretary of State, in writing or by other means approved by the Secretary of State, of the old and new addresses.” There is no requirement that the license itself be re-issued and it is not unless the licensee requests. The address change is automatically entered in the SOS computer system.
ok I understand now, if there is no requirement to do something common sense cant be used. There is no requirement to check the oil in your car, or make sure you are not driving around on half flat tires, so I guess no one should do those things too since there is no “requirement” get over it already
I am citing the law to someone who fails to understand it. The original poster suggested that the address change must be reflected on the license. He is dead wrong. It need only be reflected in the SOS’s records.
actually it is called a lic. update, look up a few facts before spilling such nonsense
18 minutes before your post I cited the statute that requires only notice to the SOS. One of us has no grasp of the facts and it is not I.
you lack in the facts of reality in general
free speach in a public square is a little off topic dont ya think, why would you have to show ID for that and actually you need a marriage lic. to get married so you do need positive ID when will you ever tire of these spin tactics!!
Having applied for a marriage license, I assure you that no ID is required. Free speech and the right to vote are the essence of democracy. Having a license to marry is identical to registering to vote.
I most certainly had to provide proof of my identity. As well as a certified, (not just a photocopy), copy of my divorce decree in order to get a marriage license.
I’m starting to think you just make up your own “facts” to support your position. But then again, most people will never check into the facts and will just take what you say at face value.
Read 19-A M. R.S.A. sections 651 and 656 which require no proof of ID for the issuance of a marriage license, but do require an oath by the applicant and a disclosure of their SS numbers (but no requirement that the applicant show the cards). Only for serial monogamists like yourself are the requirements stricter, as you must prove the divorce.
“It’s a little suspicious that somebody would oppose it. What are you trying to hide?” since when did 1950s-era McCarthyism come back in style. Where’s Margaret Chase-Smith when you need her?
You pose the answer to your own question. In having to show your ID multiple times a day you provide a perfect example of a society that has been manipulated into agreeing with all kinds of requirements that do very little to avert disaster because most of the fear monger pandering will never ever reach disaster levels. Our lives are so controlled right now it is hard to even imagine what freedom looks, feels, sounds like. We are no longer a free society. We are a controlled society. And here is the proof: a study done by Raquel Alexander, Susan Scholz, and Stephen Mazza of the University of Kansas found a financial return on investment of $220 for every dollar spent on lobbying, including election-cycle lobbying. That is quite a return on an investment and our legislators provide it all. And, we buy into it and then pay for it. What a scam.
I dont recall ever reading anywhere that only democrats would be required to show ID,your statement of Nichi wanting people to not vote to let her party gain power is nothing more than a bias scare tactic
The primary effect of Nichi’s law would be to make it much harder for those under 30 to vote, as they tend to move every year. Those under 30 have the greatest likelihood of voting for Democratic candidates.
Those young voters who voted for President Obama in 2008 are less likely to vote for him this time according to data I have read. However the new crop of voters that will be voting for the first time are likely to vote for him in increasing numbers.
It only goes to show you that you DO have to be born yesterday to vote Obama a second term.
I can’t wait to see whether President Obama will face Richie Rich or the Lizard. The more educated the voter, the more likely that he will vote for a Democrat.
Among white voters you are correct. The only educated segment that approve of Obama by over 50% are people that hold doctoral degrees. In every other white educated demographic starting with those that hold Masters degrees right down to Associate degrees Obamas disapproval numbers are higher than those that approve. These are the independent voters that count in any election. These are the voters that went to the polls for him last time in overwhelming numbers. They are giving every indication of abandoning him this time.
The last Presidents to win when his approval rating was below 50% in January of the election year was Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Clinton was almost 3 percentage points higher than Obama is now. The RCP average of polls today has Obama at 46%. Things don’t look good for “The Hope”.
Before you go trashing Republicans and comparing polls remember that they do not have a nominee as of yet so support for any contender against Obama is likely to be soft. The generic candidate is still a better comparison at the moment. In that context if the election were held today The Republican nominee would garner 275 Electoral votes Obama would capture 217 with 46 EV’s being a pure toss-up. You need 270 to win.
Please keep race out of your calculations. If you insist on talking about race, you need to treat the white vote in the south separately from white vote in the other three regions, as there is a decided difference between these two electorates: the last poll I saw of white southern voters showed that they still thought President Obama was not born in the United States.
That the mythical Ronald Reagan Republican candidate might outpoll President Obama is meaningless. As the food fight in the clown car of the Republican debates drags on, both Gingrich and Romney will see their numbers head south. You can’t beat somebody with nobody; you actually need a candidate.
These aren’t my demographics. They belong to Gallup.
It is well known that the African American demographic as well as other minorities approve of Obama regardless of education. Gallups point is that he needs educated whites in order to win. That isn’t happening.
Time will tell whether he will win, but Intrade, the free market assessment of his re-election chances has risen to 54.4%. Google it. People who are actually putting money on the line are betting on his re-election.
When Gallup breaks out southern and non-southern whites, you see a stark difference.
Intrade is pretty good. I have it bookmarked it and use it for lots of things but just like the regular stock market short term moves are played for profit. Better use for short term events 2 three weeks out of an event. Libya collapse for instance.
if there is actually any truth to that I suggest we change the legal voting age to 31,apparently that is when common sense and rational thinking take over
Note that this is typed by someone who still doesn’t understand that President Obama has lowered his tax rates. So much for self-professed rational thinking.
Dudley Gray
What you have mentioned is only the tip of the iceberg.
Mz. McCormick has spent OUR tax dollars on a laundry list women’s and social justice advocacy groups that have no association with the housing situation in this state all, while living high on the hog at various “training” functions across the country.
This is being revealed only now because an FIA request was delayed by her office since last summer on these expenditures by her organization.
Even now, there have been no dollar amounts given for the payments to these vendors and organizations, because, and I quote “their system is not set up like that”
Meanwhile, not a peep from our friends in the state mainstream media such as BDN and PPH.
They are too busy castigating the governor and Bruce Polquin for exposing these messes and challenging the status quo.
“OUR tax dollars”, you mean the tax dollars that you sent to the federal government; then, by some miracle of a Republican controlled House of Representatives, came back to Maine.
HUH?
Linda Hoskins–Agreed. Not only should LD 199 be watched, but votes and lobbying efforts concerning it should also be closely watched. Any one who supports this bill is obviously out of touch with the will of the majority of Mainers that soundly rejected the ALEC fueled attempt to suppress our voting rights last year and should be considered so at the polls.
When calculating the cost of this bill they should not forget to add in the cost of defending and implementing the voter referendum to overturn it.
After all, depriving the dead the right to vote would put a bind on democrat “get out the vote” programs.
Allowing citizens to vote will surely make it impossible for “feed the 1%” republicans to garner pluralities.
Typical RW straw argument. Make up a idea, position, point of view that is ridiculous to defend to make your argument sound good.
The only reason someone is against mandatory voter ID is they like the idea of voter fraud.
Au contraire mon frere, Voting is the fundament of democracy. Those who wish to restrict voting are showing their preference for other forms of government.
Dare we call it creeping fascism?
Want to gin up some facts to support such a ridiculously paranoid claim?
I oppose photo IDs because I believe in democracy. The only “voter fraud” is the claim by Republicans that voter fraud is a problem. There has never been a more fraudulent claim.
Show me the prosecutions for voter fraud. There are hundreds of Republican district attorneys nationwide. Why have they processed so few cases?
Not really. I oppose it because I am always forgetting to grab my wallet when I run out to vote. I’d have to drive all the way back home, get my wallet with my id and then go back to the polls. And this would drive me even more crazy because the checklist ladies all know who I am…
Seriously, this is not a good idea. It truly does hamper the ability to vote–and how hard would it be to obtain the notorious fake id? Not hard if you really wanted to commit fraud.
Do you realize how much time you will spend “fixing” the situation if you are caught driving without your license on you?
Um… very little time because the police officer can radio in my name and get all of my license information in minutes after all I would not be driving without a license. I have a license to drive just would not be on me.
You might be surprised to learn that you are required to have the license on your person and not back at home. Just like proof of insurance has to be in the car. You can be given a summons for not having either one on your person.
How many times do we have to go over this. The Republicans tried and tried and tried to find some voter fraud over the past 4 years. All they could come up with was one case. ONE! Find another schtick, this one is worn completely threadbare.
Thank you for sharing.
Again the misinformation. I will ask again; WHAT VOTER FRAUD? WHERE? WHEN? answer; There is NO VOTER FRAUD in Maine, yet you and others too lazy to check your facts persist in spreading that lie. As others have posted, there can only be one reason to persist in this lie, and that is to disenfranchise voters you believe would not support the anti American policies of the republican party.
We in Maine believe in no obstacles to allow us to perform our sacred civic duty of voting. We believe that the more that participate , the better chance of a REPRESENTATIVE of the people not just the few. We don’t have a problem of voter fraud here. On the other hand, Mississippi has been depriving people, especially Blacks, the right to vote for decades and you’re lecturing us on voter fraud!
There is no voter fraud. More fear monger pandering to control and manipulate the public. It is an attempt to control who gets to vote, plain and simple. How many more controls do you want on your life? This is no longer the land of the free. It is the land of the manipulated.
I guess you have been asleep for the last several months and didn’t notice that Mainers just overwhelmingly rejected this fake voter fraud argument. There is NO voter fraud problem in Maine (nor in America for that matter) as proven by study after study after study, even by investigations of the Maine GOP. Voter fraud is EXTREMELY rare. Just how many people would actually risk heavy penalties and waste time to go traveling around to try to double vote which wouldn’t make a difference anyway? It is absurd right wing paranoia and propaganda designed to con the weak-minded into thinking there is a voter fraud problem, when their real goal is to suppress the votes of people who tend to vote more progressive.
This will discourage older voters, students, people who move a lot, the poor, etc. It would also be very expensive because it can not be an unfunded mandate. The state will end up having to pay a lot of money for this. This will also aggravate many people regardless of party who have never had to show photo ID before. If people have not updated an address, the clerks are going to have to mess with provisional ballots which they don’t like. We have honest people in Maine and a safe and secure voting system that works. This is needless nonsense which comes straight out of the national right wing playbook, and Mainers will AGAIN see it for what it is and take it out of the GOP’s hide come November.
Or it could be that people do not want to disenfrachise voters because of their economic status, social status or age.
Ask the voters in Wisconsin who have to get new voter ID to vote and are not being told that they can get them for free in order to lower the turn out of the poor. Why would the Wisconsin Secretary of State instruct the Voter ID clerks to NOT inform people that they can get their Voter ID cards for free if not to lower the voter turn out of poorer people?
Republican leaders and many of their cult followers are sleazeballs!
Linda Hoskins, good and to the point. I am curious if it has been revealed who funded the attempt last fall at voter suppression in Maine. I may have missed the report.
DIANA,
No arguing, a government bailout is wrong and nothing to be proud of!
BOB,
Maine truly has become nothing more then a Welfare State, and yours and others daily comments just solidify it.
DUDLEY,
Just another Maine welfare song.
LINDA,
Your right on spot. We had better keep a close eye on those mean conservative pushing for legitamacy in the election process.
It is crazy what Maine Housing pays to build low income housing buildings.
Yeah, it is crazy. It is also crazy that they have to be rented to some individuals who trash them – because, like this disposal society- they know they can go back and ask for another one. Or the fact that low income housing has to built to commercial standards so they don’t fall apart after two years.
I made my mind up about showing an ID to vote this past election. I walked into the town office and was greated by a name that was not mine. I quickly said no, I am not him, I am —-my name—. That got me thinking that the election clerk had no idea who I was to begin with so how did she know the “correct name” I gave her was real?
Maybe that is not a big window for voter fraud to happen but it is enough to concern me.
That has NOTHING to do with “voter fraud”. It sounds like that was someone who accidentally mistook you for someone else as you went to check it, and you corrected the person. It wasn’t like you were presenting yourself as someone else, and it is probably very rare that such honest mistakes occur. I don’t see how your story would justify pushing an unnecessary right wing law designed to widely discourage voting. Usually when we check in to vote, they ask for your name and you tell them. They then they ask for your street address in case there has been a change, and you tell them. That is always my experience. Yes, I know in many of the smaller rural towns the clerks know the people much more personally and can verify them on sight. If there is an honest error, then the honest Maine voter just corrects them, as you did. It is not as though in such a circumstance the voter would be trying to double vote or would want to vote under someone else’s name. If anything, your case demonstrates why we DO NOT need this law in Maine. The extreme majority would just correct the poll worker just like you did and go ahead and vote. Thanks for demonstrating why we Mainers don’t need this law which is just part of the national right wing voter suppression playbook.
You can tell the pushes for voter restriction by Republican politicians are garbage because they haven’t been pushing for them on their party caucuses. They care about discouraging for against their party. This stuff about ensuring security is a lie.
Yeah, look at the Iowa GOP caucuses. They can’t even certify the vote and have a good number of votes missing. And with just 120,000 voters. And we trust the GOP to dictate to the rest of us how we should run our elections. SHAME ON THEM !
Plus the people who vote in the Iowa caucuses don’t even have to be registered voters. In this instance the only thing that matters to the GOP is that they vote Republican.
The GOP’s special interest driven agenda this year is to ram down our throats a voter ID law and they will also try more union busting legislation. LePage and the GOP always looking out for…………………….where their next campaign check is coming from.
Linda- Great letter. It is absolutely crucial that we do everything we can to protect our right to choose between guys like Newtie or Oven Mitt. Or BHO and John Kerry-Hines. We simply must insure the purity of the process of opting between the lessor of two evils. I will vehemently defend my right to waste the gas to drive to the polls and pick which lying dirt bag I would like to lie for me in Washington. It is our civic duty as Americans to make absolutely sure that we have the best person possible groveling to the top 1%, sending our jobs to China, and lining their own pockets. Talk about a heavy responsibility.
Then vote for Ron Paul 2012!
To me, Diane Young and her letter say eloquently what economic development is about and who is doing it. It is people like Diane Young who are creating a future for all of us by doing the work day to day that makes Maine a better place.