For almost 40 years, Mainers have been able to show up on Election Day and vote because the state of Maine had a law that permitted registering to vote on Election Day. The result is that Maine has one of the best voter turnouts in the country.

That law was overturned by the Legislature this past year — an action that upset a lot of Maine people. It upset them so much that a people’s veto petition was created and more than 70,000 people signed it.

That gives the public the chance to restore Election Day registration.

Despite what people may have heard, the issue is not about college students. It is about people who have two or three jobs and no time to register when the town hall is open. It is about elderly people who may be able to get a ride only on Election Day. It is about young families moving to a new town and not having voter registration on the top of their to-do list until it is time to vote.

People can restore their right to register to vote on Election Day by voting “yes” on Question 1.

Joanne Dunlap, Rangeley