Last night we sent out an action alert about the elimination of same-day voter registration in Maine. LePage signed the bill into law, and we (a coalition of organizations) signed papers at the Secretary of State's Office to launch a People's Veto.
The action alert contains a link to a volunteer sign-up page. Even before I checked my email this morning, I excitedly checked to see how many volunteers have signed up. Over 60 in about 18 hours! There's nothing more inspiring than seeing Mainers take action on an issue they care about. If you'd like to volunteer, click here and send us your contact information. We'd love for you to be involved, and more importantly, the campaign needs your help in order to be successful.
Why is same-day voter registration so important? You can read about a few good reasons here... and here... and here. Definitely check those out. But for now, I'd like to tell you why same-day voter registration is so important to me.
While doing Teach For America, I lived in two different houses in Leland, MS over two years. When my teaching commitment was fulfilled, I moved back to Maine for a summer, and then headed to Indianapolis, IN. When the charter school I was helping lead needed to make difficult budget decisions, I decided to move back to Raymond, ME and stay with my folks for a few months so that more teachers could stay in the classroom. When I started working for the ACLU of MAINE, I moved into an apartment on Allen Avenue in Portland with two friends in order to cut down on the commute. Exactly one year later, one roommate needed to leave the Portland area, so my other roommate and I moved to an apartment in the Deering High School area. Then I met my partner and a year after that I moved into his house in Westbrook. Let's count them: eight moves in seven years. Maybe the moves are a symptom of my age/youth. Perhaps it's habit from having been raised in a military family. Whatever the reason, I have moved a lot in my adult life. Combine this personal chaos with my busy work schedule, and you've got a young woman who often has to register to vote on Election Day.
For a busy person, life circumstances don't always make it possible to register to vote in a timely fashion. Look at all the chaos in my life and I don't have children or pets and only recently found myself partnered. Being busy is no reason to disenfranchise me.
Why do you care about voting rights? Leave a post on the ACLU of MAINE FB page!
