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The Oct. 10 Bangor Daily News editorial, “Worried about election interference? Vote now,” offers sensible advice: If you have made your choices, early voting is a convenient option. My concern is how the editorial presents the reasons for that advice.
Statements about deploying troops or immigration agents at polling places deserve scrutiny, as do attempts to impose new restrictions on mail ballots. But readers need a clear distinction between troubling statements, confirmed plans, and the likelihood of disruptions in their own communities.
The editorial does not establish how likely those disruptions are in Maine. It also omits the Department of Homeland Security’s stated position that ICE does not plan to patrol polling places. That assurance does not settle every concern, but it belongs in the discussion.
The editorial quotes Secretary of State Shenna Bellows saying the election should be business as usual. That reassurance deserves as much weight as the possibilities raised in the opening paragraphs.
I am not asking the newspaper to dismiss threats. I am asking it to apply the same care to warnings that it applies to reassurances.
Encourage early voting. Explain the risks. But help readers distinguish what could happen from what there is evidence to expect.
Danny Coombs
Bucksport