A Democratic state lawmaker from Blue Hill is facing a misdemeanor charge after she allegedly electioneered inside the town’s polling place during municipal elections in April.
The charge against Rep. Nina Milliken, who is in her second term representing her hometown and other coastal Hancock County communities, was filed in an Ellsworth court on Friday. She is set to appear in court to answer the charge on Oct. 7, according to Lt. Dakota Dupuis, a spokesperson for the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
Milliken is accused of violating a Maine law that prohibits attempting to influence another person’s decision on a candidate or issue on the ballot within 250 feet of a polling place on Election Day. She illegally campaigned both inside and around the town office on April 4, according to the criminal complaint.
Dupuis declined to provide a more detailed account of the incident, citing the open case. Milliken did not respond to a call and email seeking comment on the case that was first reported by The Maine Wire, a media outlet run by the conservative Maine Policy Institute.
Blue Hill election staff heard at least one complaint about Milliken on Election Day, according to former Town Clerk Sarah Lavallee, who is now the Surry tax collector. But she said no election staffer saw the lawmaker campaigning around the building, denying an anonymous source’s assertion to The Maine Wire that she told Milliken to stop pressuring voters.
During April’s election, Amanda Woog and Benjamin Adams beat two other candidates for spots on Blue Hill’s select board. The town also picked representatives for spots on the planning and school boards and decided three ballot questions.
The 250-foot rule is rarely charged as a crime in Maine, although violations are a common complaint during elections here. Enforcement is most often left to local election officials who enforce the law simply by telling people to move away from the polling place.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case. Fecteau said in February that Milliken was “wrong” for a social media post about a woman convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper. Maine police groups called for her to be removed from the legislative committee overseeing public safety.
The Class E charge against Milliken carries maximum penalties of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. She is likely to face a smaller punishment if the case is carried through the court system.