LEWISTON – Rep. Barbara Merrill qualified for the gubernatorial ballot.

She qualified for public financing, which guaranteed her at least $400,000 to run her campaign.

And she qualified for inclusion in countless candidates’ forums around the state.

She didn’t qualify for the Maine AARP’s video voter guide, which is available on the organization’s Web site.

The guide includes footage of the three other major candidates running for governor – incumbent John Baldacci, Republican Chandler Woodcock and Green Independent Pat LaMarche.

From Merrill, nothing.

“The AARP has been running television commercials telling people about the voter guide on their Web site and telling them to make an informed decision,” Merrill said. “But they didn’t include all the candidates.”

According to Maine AARP State Director Jud Dolphin, the state chapter follows rules established by the national organization for including candidates in its voter guide.

Those rules, Dolphin said, mandate that a candidate must be polling at 5 percent to be included. In June when production of the voter guide began, Merrill had support from only 3 percent of people.

“It’s a done deal. It’s a done product,” Dolphin said. “She didn’t qualify according to our longstanding rules.”

Dolphin cited a poll conducted by Strategic Marketing Services of Portland, which was conducted between July 14 and July 21. The poll showed Merrill with only 3 percent support.

It also showed LaMarche with just 2.5 percent support.

“LaMarche was also at 3 percent,” Dolphin said. “But she qualified under another part of the policy.”

Because LaMarche is running as a candidate in a recognized party, which received at least 5 percent of the vote in the last gubernatorial election, she was included, Dolphin said.

The poll in question was taken just one month after the state’s June primary in which the three party candidates had appeared on the ballot.

“This whole thing is bogus to begin with,” Merrill said. “It was clear in June because I qualified for public financing that I wasn’t a marginal candidate.”

Since July, the LaMarche and Merrill campaigns have doubled their support in several polls, clocking in around 6 or 7 percent each.

Merrill said that the AARP’s policy discriminates against independent candidates who are running without the support of a major political party.

“They’re not serving their members,” Merrill said of the AARP. “AARP needs to change it and they need to change it now.”

Dolphin said that wasn’t possible. The voters guide is complete and can’t be redone.

“There’s nothing we can do without being unfair to the other candidates or to our policies,” Dolphin said. “We’re not looking to give any candidate an advantage.”

Asked if Merrill could at least provide written answers to the AARP’s questions and have those included on the Web site, Dolphin said no, adding that she could put out a news release with answers to the questions if she wanted to.

“In 1974 and 1994, neither Jim Longley nor Angus King would have met the AARP threshold,” Merrill said. “It’s complete inflexibility.”

Independent candidate Phillip NaPier is also left out of the guide. NaPier qualified for the ballot, but has raised and spent little money and hasn’t registered any support in election polls.

The voter guide can be viewed at: www.aarp.org/states/me/

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