Search query: maine

Are Independent Voters Truly Independent, or Are They a Myth? Take the Survey For good reason, there is a lot of attention on Maine right now. I got to spend some time in Maine last week on the day the people made history with a big victory in protecting the state's ranked choice voting law. Voters also used ranked choice voting for the first time in statewide primary elections. I think the hidden news of the week, though, is that independent voters distinctly count – and they’re not just clos

The partisan bickering in the Legislature has claimed another victim: Clean Elections. In 1996, Maine voters decided they’d had enough with how campaigns were funded, and they passed the Maine Clean Election Act. Candidates who choose to run “clean” can accept only a certain number of contributions to start, and only $5 contributions from voters in their district qualify the candidate to receive public funding. It’s a great idea – you get local support and public financing, keeping big-money d

Throughout slavery, Reconstruction and the movement for civil rights, African Americans in the U.S. have faced racism, social disparities, and oppression. While things have advanced for us significantly, black Americans still encounter subtle and blatant social disenfranchisement.For instance, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the people behind bars in the U.S. are disproportionately black. Chronic diseases like diabetes, arthritis, HIV, and cancer are more pr

Buyers need to stay on alert; scammers are always coming up with tricky new ways to part you and your money. You can’t be too careful these days and when something looks “too good to be true” it often is. BBB Warns Consumers About Internet Vehicle Scams The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about scams robbing people of their hard-earned dollars as they wait for cars that never arrive. Using fake websites and a non-existent escrow company, scammers have lured dozens of victims by o

The country’s military bases are dead zones of justice for child-on-child sexual assaults, according to the findings of a lengthy investigation conducted by the Associated Press. The findings of the investigation, released in March, paint a bleak picture for the children of military families who are sexually assaulted by the children of other military families. The problem of sexual assault within its ranks has long been a well-known black eye for the military. But more than a decade after the

AUGUSTA, ME -- Several ballots are still being counted for Maine's June 12 primary election, but what is clear is Question 1 to protect ranked choice voting won a decisive victory, despite the political establishment's efforts to kill the reform The historic significance of this win cannot be understated and is much broader than many realize: * It's clear independent voters are the driving force behind voter-centric election reform. * Maine voters led the ranked choice voting reform, despite

“Look Around the Poker Table; If You Can’t See the Sucker, You’re It” In the year and a half that Donald Trump has served as president, one of his most consistent punching bags (save for Robert Mueller’s investigation) has been US trade relations with China. Almost all of us have seen his tweets criticizing previous administrations for being “dumb,” “stupid,” and “weak” in their negotiating tactics. Additionally, we have also all heard his promises to use his self-proclaimed superior negotiati

The League of Women Voters of Maine announced results of an on-line survey asking how voters liked using ranked choice voting in the June 12 primary. The informal survey does not purport to represent the views of the population as a whole but provides a useful snapshot of voter attitude coming out of the primary. The results and robust response rate -- over 650 participants -- reveal broad satisfaction with the use of RCV. Findings include: * Only 8 percent of respondents had ever used RCV in

In my latest interview, I spoke with Nick Braña, who served as the National Outreach Coordinator for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and is the founder of the Movement for a People's Party, a group of former Bernie supporters, progressive independents, and disenchanted Democrats who believe a new party is needed. READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Amid Explosive DNC Revelations, Progressives Revolt Against Party Nick and I talk about the latest rule approved by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee

House Speaker Paul Ryan and lawmakers have been working on a pair of bills that if passed, would solve the long-sought comprehensive immigration reform the country clearly needs. Next week, Speaker Ryan is expected to present two immigration bills on the floor of the house for consideration. The timing of this effort comes as news reports emphasize the separation of undocumented immigrant families at U.S. borders and wants to change the practice in legislation. According to GOP lawmakers, the b