Today, the U. S. House Oversight Committee will hear H.R. 51, the Washington D.C. Admissions Act, which would grant full statehood to the District of Columbia. Leagues and allies from around the country are hosting a Virtual Watch Party at 10:30 AM. It’s time to grant representation for D.C. residents.
NEWS:
Boom, it's law: LD 2 and LD 102, supported by the League, were signed into law last week by Governor Mills. On April 1 at 6:00 PM, Maine Law will host a public forum discussing LD 2: Racial Injustice: Using Racial Impact Statements to Inform Change. A racial impact statement, like a fiscal impact statement, is a tool to aid legislators in detecting unintended and unforeseen disparate impacts of proposed legislation prior to adoption and implementation. Learn more about this event here.
This week's legislative lineup and the next: It's a quiet week for the League. We are testifying on one bill and watching a few more. Stay up to date on our Legislative priorities by visiting our Public Testimony page.
Next week, Wednesday, March 31, will be a busy day: We will be opposing three photo ID bills, LDs 253, 557, and 1083. Together with our partners at MCCE, we will be opposing four bills that would curtail Clean Elections, including LD 921, which proposes to eliminate Clean Elections funding for gubernatorial candidates. And we will be weighing in on a couple of bills that purport to enhance election security. We’ve got questions.
What we’re not hearing: We’ve not heard updates about any more legislative session days. While committee hearings and work sessions are rolling along via Zoom, the full Legislature has been in session only two days since December. They will have to come back at some point — but when?
WHAT THE LEAGUE IS WORKING ON:
For the People Act: Now is the time to contact Senator Angus King and Senator Susan Collins and ask them to support the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1). We've made it easy. You can use our look-up form to find your Senator's contact information and send them a letter that we have already provided. It only takes a few minutes. Click here to get started.
Establishing Open Primaries in Maine: Coming soon to the Legislature is LD 231. LD 231 would allow semi-open primaries, meaning unenrolled voters would be permitted to cast one ballot in the primary of their choice. Republicans would not be able to vote in Democratic primaries, and Democrats would not be able to vote in Republican primaries. LWVME supports semi-open primaries. Learn more about semi-open primaries and take action on LD 231 with Open Primaries Maine.
Online Voter Registration: It's here. The Online Voter Registration (OVR) bill is printed and listed as LD 1126. This is one of the League’s top priorities this year, and we're looking for stories. Do you face difficulties or barriers to register or update your voter registration under the current system? Have you had an experience that would have been easier with OVR? For those who would like to share their story, please email Will at will@lwvme.org.