Recently, the Maine Legislature voted down an issue that was approved by 80% of Mainers eligible to vote. I want to thank the legislators who voted for it, including Senate President Troy Jackson and Speaker of the House Sara Gideon. The ones who didn’t vote for it need to answer “why.”
LD 211 was a bill to open Maine’s primaries to unenrolled voters. If it had passed, Maine’s elections would have been more welcoming, fair and representative of everyone.
The majority of people in Maine and the country are not enrolled in a major party, yet many of them are still active voters. For much of the electoral process, their voices are silenced. There could be a candidate that unenrolled voters prefer, yet they don’t agree with the party’s platform. Because of this, the winner of either or both of the primaries could only represent a small portion of the populace.
If primaries were open, candidates would better represent the voting public.
I am a proud registered Democrat and that is not going to change. But democracy is supposed to represent the will of all the people, not just some.
The Maine people want open primaries. It is a shame the Legislature voted it down.
Caleb Roebuck, Lewiston
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.