Articles by Joe H Pickering Jr

Next year, Maine will hold its first open primary election. Every Maine voter — including the 32 percent registered as unaffiliated — will be able to vote. It’s a critical step forward.  ...

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared in the Portland Press Herald and has been republished on IVN by request and with permission from the author. ‍ Greg Kesich’s July 25 column in the Portland Press Herald, “The View From Here: Party politics times five,” is excellent in its analysis of a worn-out theme: partisan elections. Whether two parties or five, the parties do wage a 24/7 uncivil war. But given their vital role, can’t the media help end it? America needs a more honest election...

Editor's Note: The following piece was originally published as a "Letter to the Editor" for the Portland Press Herald and has been republiched on IVN by request and with permission from the author. ‍ Maine voters still live in a darkened room called the closed primary. In a 2014 New York Times op-ed, Sen. Chuck Schumer urged America to adopt a top-two open-primary system. Sen. Joe Baldacci is sponsoring a top-two open-primary bill in Maine, L.D. 1121. It's truly democracy in action! In an op-...

Editor's Note: This op-ed originally appeared in the Maine Voices section of the Portland Press Herald and has been republished on IVN with permission from the author. ‍ Until now, no American ever experienced the horror of our Capitol being attacked by fellow Americans. Greg Kesich, in his Jan. 10 column, described it as “watching democracy come unglued.” True! Political scientist Jasmin Mujanovic was quoted as recommending investing in a massive public education campaign and setting up a 9/1...

Do American voters have a stronger theft case? For years both parties have done their best (or worse) controlling our public American election system. Are they the real guilty parties?...

Editor's Note: This piece originally published in the Portland Press Herald, and has been republished with permission from the author. ‍ The presidential election on Nov. 3 is nearly upon us. No matter who’s elected, it will have an immense impact on our nation. In Florida, another vote is looming that may have just as great an impact. Why? It takes the first steps toward true structural election reform. Florida, like Maine, has a closed primary. But Floridians courageously collected 1 milli...

Many Mainers, for the first time, have been confronted with what it means to have their right to vote threatened. It’s a deeply unsettling feeling. Which is why editorial boards across the state, including, on April 5, the Maine Sunday Telegram, have called for steps to be taken to ensure broad voter participation and safety. As Gov. Mills has declared: “A person’s right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and I take seriously government’s responsibility to ensure that every Maine perso...

In his March 15 commentary, Sen. Angus King wishes Maine a Happy Birthday and another 200 years. He is certain history will repeat itself. OK. What will he and Maine’s congressional delegation do to ensure it? Will they adhere to our state motto to lead and demand that Congress implement true political election reform? Let’s demand it of them! Why shouldn’t our federal leaders (and our state leaders) match the heroism of Maine’s constitutional convention and its president (who became Maine’s f...

Written by Joe Pickering of Mainers for Open Elections, originally published in the Bangor Daily News. “Go Vote,” the March 4 BDN editorial urges. “There is no better way to reinvigorate the democratic spirit in you.” How so? Why should a plurality of voters in Maine and America have to register as a party member in order to vote in the primaries in first place? Ben Franklin told Mrs. Powell and all of us down through the centuries that we have “a republic, if you can keep it.” We cannot keep ...