Maine Voters Deserve More Freedom: Support Nonpartisan Open Primaries!

image
Created: 05 Apr, 2021
Updated: 14 Aug, 2022
1 min read

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-ed in the Bangor Daily News, Sen. Chloe Maxmin states: "Building an inclusive democracy starts with semi-open primaries." Why?

In 2017, the Bangor League of Women Voters recommended a top-four open primary with ranked-choice voting, which the state league rejected. Nearly four years later, the Maine League commended the Alaska voter and Alaska League for achieving this first-in-the-nation goal. Alas, Maine could have lived its motto to lead the nation!

The Maine League's "Maine: The State of Our Democracy" report states: "Maine leads the nation in protecting voting rights." Major problem: Everyone's votes are within the two-party system. Alaska is free of it, and the Maine League praised Alaska for that.

May Maine voters and organizations testify in support of Sen. Joe Baldacci's top-two primary election bill at the public hearing April 12. Mainers deserve voter freedom and greater candidate choice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Latest articles

Two wedding rings on a dictionary opened to the definition of marriage.
Record Partisan Divide Overshadows Broad Public Support for Same-Sex Marriage
It has been 10 years since the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges opened the door for same-sex couples across the US to marry, regardless of what states banned it and what states had already legalized it....
30 May, 2025
-
3 min read
Grey ballot box with a white ballot going into it and the New Mexico flag in the background.
Opening the Door: How New Mexico Reformed Its Primary Elections and What Others Can Learn
More than 330,000 independent voters will have access to state-administered primary elections in future New Mexico elections after the legislature passed SB 16 in March to end the state’s use of closed primaries....
29 May, 2025
-
5 min read
Dean Phillips
Dean Phillips Breaks Ranks: A Firsthand Rejection of the Duopoly That Controls American Democracy
In the shadow of a damning new campaign exposé, the only elected Democrat to challenge President Biden in 2024 speaks out about what really happened and what must change....
29 May, 2025
-
5 min read