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Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
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Secretary of State finds dual voting accusations from Maine GOP to be false
A voter walks by a ballot box outside Portland City Hall on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Lauren McCauley/ Maine Morning Star) After investigating the recent accusation of multiple Maine citizens voting twice in the same election, the Secretary of State's office has said it found the claims to be false. In a letter to the chair of the Maine Republican Party, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the Elections Division in her office found no incidents of dual voting among the list of 51 names accused by the party of voting twice in the same election. The investigation from Bellows' office comes after the Maine GOP released the results of an election integrity investigation it conducted this year that focused on voters who were registered to vote twice. The state party, along with the help of the RNC, found more than 600 voters who registered to vote twice and more than 50 who voted twice in the same election, using an official state voter file provided by the Secretary of State, according to details shared in a June 26 Facebook post. Of the 51 names in question, 11 were different people with the same name and another 19 were erroneously recorded by their local municipality as having voted twice but in fact had not, according to a news release from Bellows' office Wednesday morning. The rest of the voters' records needed minor corrections or other administrative action, but had no record of dual voting. For example, there was an individual accused who voted in the municipal and state elections in June 2024, which are technically separate elections even when held on the same day. Bellows said anyone with concerns or evidence of improper voting should bring those to the Department of Secretary of State to investigate in accordance with the Constitution. She went on to say that 'it's not only unfair to the individuals wrongly accused but also an insult to the hardworking state and local election officials to make false accusations of criminal activity.' The Maine GOP did not respond to a request for comment on Bellows' letter as of mid-Wednesday. The June accusations came less than a year after accusations of non-citizen voting across the country from Republican lawmakers and candidates before the November 2024 election. State lawmakers in Maine joined the chorus after a conservative news outlet published an article alleging six noncitizens are registered to vote in Maine by comparing voter rolls against self-reported status on medical records, which the website refused to turn over to the state's constitutional officers. Bellows said at the time that she was committed to investigating the potential violations, but worried that the largely unsubstantiated claims will be used to sow doubt in the upcoming election results. Election officials in Maine inspect voter rolls after every election to identify duplicates or any potential wrongdoings, the release said. After the 2020 election, two individuals were identified during that process as having voted twice and were prosecuted by the Maine Office of Attorney General. Routine election work also includes the review of duplicate registrations, which are not uncommon, especially after someone moves to a new municipality. The Secretary of State provides an annual report to the Maine Legislature outlining the cancellation of duplicates and other voter list maintenance. The 2024 report was delivered to the Legislature's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee in January. It indicated that nearly 1,200 duplicate records were removed from the statewide voter registration database. Duplicate records are resolved by Elections Division staff at the Secretary of State's office — rather than municipal clerks who can only access their towns records — to ensure uniformity across the state, the release said. 'We are proud of Maine's safe, free, and secure elections, and I applaud the detailed work that Maine election officials do to ensure the integrity of our voter rolls and protect Maine elections,' Bellow said in the letter. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
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Republican Sen. Rick Bennett announces independent bid for Maine governor
Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) addresses the upper chamber on May 7, 2025. (By Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) After decades of public service as a Republican, state Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford announced on Tuesday that he is running for governor as an independent. 'My candidacy is not an indictment of either party,' Bennett told Maine Morning Star in an interview. 'It's an indictment of the party structure and parties as the solution to solving our problems.' Calling his independent bid liberating, Bennett said he intends to take his message — one of fiscal responsibility — directly to Maine people and not a subset of the electorate, an approach he sees as a return to Maine's independent tradition. 'I see politics beginning to slide more towards the politics of Washington,' Bennett said, 'and I think we have the opportunity as Maine people to say no to that.' A lifelong Mainer, Bennett currently serves as Oxford County's senator, a term he plans to finish in 2026 to total 18 combined years of nonconsecutive service in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, including formerly serving as Senate president. He's vied for higher office before. Running as a Republican, Bennett narrowly lost a bid for Maine's 2nd Congressional district in 1994 and a primary race for U.S. Senate in 2012. He then went on to chair the Maine Republican Party from 2013 to 2016, casting a vote for President Donald Trump the year of his exit as the party's elector. But his votes in the Legislature in recent years position him as one of the most bipartisan legislators. Bennett said he doesn't think he's changed his views much throughout his time in public office. Rather, he thinks the Republican Party, and politics more broadly, has embraced a toxicity that detracts from what he sees as the most pressing issues facing the state: declining quality education, a lack of access to health care particularly in rural areas and affordable housing. 'A lot of the energizing elements in the Republican Party are not what I think respond to the needs of a lot of Maine people,' he said. Bennett offered a similar critique amid the state budget debate in March. One of two Republicans to vote for a proposed change package that sought to address the urgent MaineCare deficit, Bennett told Maine Morning Star at the time that he was concerned about the growing demand for fidelity in politics entering Maine. 'There's an element in the Republican Party and the Republican caucuses that is sort of feeding off the chaos and disruptive energies of Donald Trump,' Bennett said, 'and it's really not a good thing to see.' That supplemental budget ultimately failed after opposition from others in his caucus who refused to back it without structural reform to the program, which is Maine's version of Medicaid. Later in March, Bennett voted against the two-year budget, as well as the addition passed last week. However, he was a rare voice among Republicans in not objecting to the budget being something largely crafted and advanced by Democrats, the majority party. 'We think about these things in partisan terms far too much,' he said in March. 'I object to this budget because it represents a dramatic failing of the Legislature to do its job.' Reiterating the reform he's long pushed for, Bennett said in an interview ahead of announcing his gubernatorial bid that, if elected, he would push for the Legislature to overhaul its budget process, specifically by building in opportunities to re-evaluate baseline spending, which the budget plan passed in March continued as is. While ultimately joining Republicans in opposing the budget plans for the next biennium, Bennett is no stranger to bucking his party. Recently, he joined Democrats in voting against a bill to ban transgender girls from playing girls sports or using girls bathrooms or locker rooms, as well as a slate of other proposals that sought to roll back protections for trans Mainers. While stating that he was initially unsure how he would vote, Bennett said in a speech on the Senate floor that he shared the proposals with his daughter, Abby, describing her as an accomplished athlete. 'Her response was simple and struck me deeply,' Bennett said. 'She said, 'These bills make me sad.' Her feelings gave me permission to be honest about mine too. I feel sadness that these are before us… I'm saddened by the hardening of silos and the temptation to stigmatize those who are different.' Bennett also joined Democrats in voting for a bill to restrict local authorities from carrying out federal immigration enforcement, specifically raising concern that municipalities would be on the hook to pay for their local police taking on federal immigration enforcement work, expanding their legal risk with no compensation. 'I, for one, am concerned about the use of Maine resources and the taking of those resources for activities that are governed by whatever party is in the White House,' he said on the Senate floor. 'We need to focus on Maine.' Bennett has championed the Wabanaki Nations' push for state recognition of their sovereignty, sweeping reform that current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has opposed. He's also taken interest in laying the groundwork for a four-day work week and eliminating daylight saving time, though such a change would be contingent on federal approval. Bennett has also advocated for significant campaign finance reform, which, as he put it, is 'unfortunately one of the things that the Republicans and Democrats agree on in Augusta.' This year, the Legislature rejected a bill Bennett proposed to offer Mainers transparency regarding who spends money in elections by requiring political action committees to disclose their donors over $5,000. The proposal was based on an Arizona law that has already been tested in and held up by the courts. In 2023, Bennett also chaired the ballot question committee for a referendum Maine voters passed to ban companies from spending money on referendum campaigns if they are partially owned by a foreign government or entity. He also supported the referendum passed last year to place a $5,000 limit on super PACs, which are independent political action committees that can currently raise and spend unlimited funds. However, both of those reforms were blocked as legal battles play out in the courts. While Bennett has previously run his campaigns under the Maine Clean Elections Act, which offers full public financing of political campaigns, he said he will not be doing so for his gubernatorial bid, noting the currently inadequate funding for the program and higher qualifying contribution requirements for governor that he sees as difficult to achieve without the backing of a political party. A bill the Legislature passed, which Bennett supported, could also change how Mainers cast their votes in the gubernatorial race in 2026. It currently awaits the governor's approval. LD 1666 would expand ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference, for general and special elections for governor and state legislators. RCV is currently used for federal elections and gubernatorial and state-level primary elections in Maine. 'I wasn't wild about ranked-choice voting but the voters of Maine said twice that they want it,' Bennett said, referring to Mainers initially voting the system into law and later expanding it. 'So, I have been supporting it and trying to make it work.' Though, Bennett declined to comment on how he thinks the expansion of this voting method would impact the governor's race. The Republicans currently running for governor are state Sen. James Libby of Cumberland, Robert Charles of Bangor, who worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration, Navy veteran Steven Christopher Sheppard, also of Bangor, Kenneth Capron of Portland, David John Jones of Falmouth, Owen McCarthy of Gorham, Democratic contenders include Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson and the children of two of Maine's current members of Congress, Hannah Pingree, also the former head of Gov. Janet Mills' Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Angus King III. There is also one other unenrolled candidate so far, Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover Foxcroft. The Republicans currently running for governor are state Sen. James Libby of Cumberland, Robert Charles of Bangor, who worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration, Navy veteran Steven Christopher Sheppard, also of Bangor, Kenneth Capron of Portland, David John Jones of Falmouth, and Owen McCarthy of Gorham. Democratic contenders include Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson and the children of two of Maine's current members of Congress, Hannah Pingree, also the former head of Gov. Janet Mills' Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Angus King III. There is also one other unenrolled candidate for governor so far, Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover-Foxcroft. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
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Ban on state seizure of Wabanaki land passes Legislature, but likely to be vetoed
William Nicholas, chief of the Passamoquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, testifies in support of prohibiting eminent domain on tribal lands before the Judiciary Committee on April 4. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Legislation that would prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use passed with bipartisan support in the Maine Legislature Friday, winning over many Republicans who generally were less supportive of previous attempts to provide the Wabanaki Nations greater sovereignty. However, initial votes show that support may not be enough to override an expected veto from Gov. Janet Mills. With 11 Republicans joining the Democratic majority, the Maine House of Representatives voted 86-60 on Friday in favor of the bill, preceded by ample debate. The Senate followed suit with a 20-12 vote but no discussion. However, a two-thirds vote in both chambers would be needed to override a veto. LD 958, which has bipartisan co-sponsors and received a favorable committee vote, would prohibit the state from exercising something called eminent domain on current trust and reservation land. 'This is an issue that small government conservatives and civil justice liberals can agree on,' bill sponsor House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) told Maine Morning Star. However, others in his caucus spoke against the bill during floor debate, highlighting that their opposition to this issue is attached to their overall opposition to tribal sovereignty efforts. 'I cannot support this measure because I believe the issue is an issue to some degree less about eminent domain than it is about tribal sovereignty,' Rep. Ken Fredette (R-Newport) said. Fredette went on to compare the Wabanaki Nations to states and municipalities. Governor opposed to latest change to Settlement Act backed by Wabanaki Nations 'Our states are not absolute sovereign from our federal government,' Fredette said. 'Our towns are not absolute sovereign from the state in and the reality is that the tribes are not absolutely sovereign from the state of Maine.' Most other federally recognized tribes are already afforded protection against states being able to seize tribal land for public use. However, the Wabanaki Nations are not, due to repercussions from the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. This land settlement agreement has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations like other federally recognized tribes. Overhauling this act in its entirety is the Wabanaki Nations' broader goal for greater recognition of their sovereignty. The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws. In 1834, the federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress, but the Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. 'As an ardent supporter of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights I stand opposed to the government taking people's property through eminent domain,' Faulkingham said. 'It is even more egregious to threaten seizure of property from sovereign tribes who have suffered from historic injustices of land seizures in the past.' LD 958 would amend the Settlement Act to prohibit the state from exercising eminent domain on trust and reservation land, which is protected under federal law, though fee land — or private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to the state taking. The bill would also amend the 2023 Mi'kmaq Nation Restoration Act to make this change for the fourth Tribe of the Wabanaki Nations, the Mi'kmaq Nation, which wasn't included in the Settlement Act. 'I feel like this is a no brainer,' Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance Maulian Bryant told Maine Morning Star. 'We should have tribal land protected from state seizure, just like other tribes around the country.' Throughout committee consideration of the bill, it was amended to incorporate a proposed change from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce that the prohibition would only apply to current reservation and trust lands, and not land that may be put into trust in the future. Each of the Wabanaki Nations are eligible to acquire up to 150,000 acres of trust land in specific areas identified in the Settlement Act. Several tribes have already acquired most of that. While the Judiciary Committee accepted that amendment, Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, who is on the committee, told Maine Morning Star that some tribal leaders believed that compromise shouldn't have been made. 'We don't want to keep negotiating away everything,' Dana said. 'We've been negotiating everything away since the 1980s.' 'What we don't know is what we don't know,' Fredette said on the floor. 'Would we, as a state, for the best interest of the state, require a sliver of a piece of land? I don't know the answer to that.' Fredette repeated many of the same talking points that the governor's counsel, Jerry Reid, told the Judiciary Committee during a work session in which he shared that Mills is opposed to the bill. After not testifying during the bill's public hearing, Reid said on April 9 that Mills is concerned the bill could prevent the state government from addressing unpredictable future infrastructure needs, an issue also raised in written testimony from the Maine Department of Transportation. When pressed by committee members, Reid said he didn't have a specific example of an infrastructure project that would warrant seizing tribal land but that, 'We need to write the law mindful of the potential for problems.' Republican Sen. David Haggan of Penobscot, who was one of four committee members to vote against the bill in committee, invited Reid and Tim Woodcock, attorney with Eaton Peabody, to provide a question and answer session about the bill, which was only attended by Republican legislators on May 8. A handout from that meeting listed similar key points, pointing to uncertain future needs and arguing that the state needs to be mindful of the interests of the 1.4 million non-tribal Maine citizens, as well. 'Informational sessions like this are not unusual,' the governor's press secretary Ben Goodman said when asked why the session was held. So far, sweeping changes to the Settlement Act have failed due to opposition from Mills, though an omnibus sovereignty bill has been carried over into next year. Instead, the governor, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year. Craig Francis, a tribal attorney and Passamaquoddy citizen, told Maine Morning Star that the Wabanaki Nations hadn't expected the eminent domain issue to garner the pushback from the Mills administration that it has. 'We're trying to approach change that way because of what the governor has laid that out as a path forward,' Francis said, referring to the piecemeal approach. 'We didn't really see eminent domain as that big of an issue as her office is making it out to be.' The state has not exercised eminent domain over tribal lands since the Settlement Act, a point Fredette also made on the House floor. This also means that, currently, the state's ability to exercise eminent domain over tribal lands is not actually clear. 'I suspect that even if the state were going to attempt to take a piece of tribal land by eminent domain, it would be sufficiently litigated frankly for years before that were to happen,' Fredette said on the floor, 'and so I think this is a bill that's in search of a problem.' Meanwhile, Francis said the likelihood of litigation is a reason to clarify rights now in the bill. 'It leaves open legal questions that ultimately will end up having to be resolved by a court,' Francis said. 'We're trying to resolve it amicably because there's always room for conversation in the future if [the state] needed land.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
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Legislative recap for Thursday, June 12
The Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) Thursday saw several major issues come to the floor, with the Maine Senate and House of Representatives taking up more than a dozen gun bills. Additionally, the Senate voted on two bills related to transgender rights, arguably the most contentious topic this session, while the chambers backed proposals to increase taxes on corporations and top earners. With papers frantically shuffling between chambers this week ahead of the planned June 18 adjournment, Maine Morning Star will highlight the biggest items of debate as well as legislation and issues that we've followed all session. Here's an overview of what else happened Thursday. After the House voted 76-71 on Thursday, both chambers have now backed a measure (LD 913) that would prohibit ticket sellers from banning the transfer of tickets to third parties. The Senate on Thursday followed the House in backing LD 172, which would require the Maine State Police to create a statewide list of missing persons and study improvements for investigating those cases, but then moved to table the measure. (Read more about this issue here). With the Senate voting 19-16, the majority of both chambers support a proposal (LD 648) to expand the state's supervised community confinement program for incarcerated people who committed offenses before they were 26 years old. The Senate on Thursday insisted on its support of a proposal (LD 1200), rejected by the House Wednesday, that would prohibit the sale of items intended to be used to inhale nitrous oxide for recreational use. Voting without a roll call, the Senate passed legislation (LD 1955) that establishes several new programs to help support and incentivize people to become early childhood educators and providers. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan for the long-term sustainability of the Maine Child Care Affordability Program. Introducing her bill, Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) said it is about 'supporting the workforce behind our workforce.' The Senate voted 20-15 on legislation that would establish a moratorium on the sale of mobile home parks. During debate, Sen. Chip Curry (D-Waldo) explained the pause would allow some of the other bills that passed protecting mobile home owners to take effect. An emergency bill (LD 1986) from the governor to fund collective bargaining agreements for judicial branch employees passed the Senate, with members agreeing to skip the committee process to advance the legislation. The Senate voted without a roll call to back a plan (LD 1669) to establish the Cannabis Advisory Council, to make recommendations to the head of the state Office of Cannabis Policy, as well the Legislature, on matters related to the industry and policy. Legislation (LD 1164 ) that would give the Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to operate internet gaming in Maine passed the House 85-59. During debate, Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana said the bill offers hope and opportunity not just for tribal communities but for rural Maine. He added that it's ultimately about long-overdue economic inclusion. (Read more about this issue here). SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
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Maine Senate rejects effort to ban trans girls from sports
Alice Frost, who identifies as transgender, speaks to a reporter after a rally in Cumberland, Maine on Sunday, March 23, 2025, calling on Maine lawmakers, and local MSAD51 school officials, to support transgender student athletes. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) Despite pressure from the Trump administration to repeal protections for transgender student athletes, lawmakers in the Maine Senate late Thursday rejected legislation that would restrict transgender students' access to school sports and bathrooms. The majority of the chamber also shot down an effort to roll back state law that establishes a process for someone at least 16 years old to access gender-affirming health care. The bills — LD 1134 and LD 380 — mark the first of several targeting transgender rights that will go before lawmakers in the Senate and Maine House of Representatives in the coming days. LD 1134 would specifically ban transgender girls from playing girls sports or using girls bathrooms or locker rooms. It is one of three similar proposals this session that require trans students to adhere to sports and facilities that align with the sex assigned at birth. The Senate voted 21-14 in support of a motion to reject the measure, with Sen. Rick Bennett of (R-Oxford) joining Democrats against the bill. In a speech on the Senate floor, Bennett commended the students who spoke up on 'every side of the issue.' Transgender teens and allies crowd State House to fight anti-trans bills 'These are Maine kids and they deserve to grow up in a state where they are safe, respected and seen,' he said. Referring to those who say the bill seeks to put the state in compliance with federal anti-discrimination protections, he said those questions are 'already being addressed in courts where they belong. What we are being asked today is something different: deciding if our laws will affirm the dignity of every child in Maine, or diminish it.' Many of the bill's critics focused on what they said were inherent biological differences between males and females and the superior athleticism of males. Bill sponsor Sen. Sue Bernard (R-Aroostook) told her colleagues she meant no disrespect to the trans community with the bill. 'I'm merely recognizing biological strengths and differences that exist,' she said. 'It's also what's inherently fair and unfair about requiring girls to compete against trans athletes. There's nothing new about leveling the playing field in sports.' Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), however, pointed out that trans women and girls have been competing alongside cisgender girls in sports in Maine for decades without much fanfare. 'This is nothing new,' he said. 'What is new is the outsized and disproportionate focus on their lives, especially on what trans kids get to do at school.' He continued, 'Banning a group of kids from playing sports alongside their classmates simply because of who they are is not about ensuring fairness. It's about drawing a line of exclusion. And for trans youth, who already face significantly higher rates of bullying, depression and suicide, being told they don't belong will have serious consequences for their health and their well being.' The Senate also voted 21-14 against LD 380, which would no longer allow minors that are at least 16 years old to consent to gender-affirming care, which can include a wide range of services, including hormone therapy and counseling. Debate centers on fairness and safety during hearing on transgender sports bills Sen. David Haggan (R-Penobscot), who sponsored the legislation, said parents should know what children are doing, 'in all facets of life,' until they are 18 years old. Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) said the current law was passed after 'exhaustive study and debate in the 131st Legislature. There's no reason to change.' Hundreds of people attended the May public hearing on the slate of anti-trans bills, the vast majority of whom were there in support of trans students. Citing national attacks on trans rights, students, parents of trans youth, faith leaders, educators and other community members testified against the proposals. In 2021, the Maine Human Rights Act was amended to include gender identity as a protected class against discrimination. But that policy has been the subject of debate and scrutiny since President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding unless Maine complies with his executive order banning transgender girls from playing girls' sports. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently suing the state over what it says are violations of Title IX, which protects against discrimination in schools. Other legislation expected to appear before the House and Senate include proposals to restrict the rights of students to use affirming pronouns and broader bills attempting to remove gender identity as part of the Maine Human Rights Act. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
