Public Hearing TUESDAY May 11   9:00 AM

LD 1384 An Act To Adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

AGAINST

SUMMARY:

This bill repeals ranked-choice voting in general elections for President of the United States and instead proposes to adopt an interstate compact to elect the President of the United States by national popular vote. Under the compact, the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia is elected President. Under the compact, all of a state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bill takes effect only ifa enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes, that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President, which is 270 of 538.

Exellent Explanation from Eric Brakey and the Free Maine Campaign

https://www.facebook.com/freemaine/

National Popular Vote is Bad for Maine

Excluding individual state representation and only counting popular votes would NEGATE MAINE voters.

New York, Chicago, and San Francisco would have more say on how Maine’s votes are cast than Maine people would.

This power grab for big cities is an attempted end-run around the U.S. Constitution to invalidate the Electoral College.

Electoral College benefits Maine people

The Electoral College was designed so small states, like Maine (not only large population states), would have a voice in the election of U.S. presidents.

The math is so simple that even politicians should be able to understand.

Where Maine has only 0.4% of the total population, Maine’s Electoral College votes are 0.74% of the total national vote.

Under the current Electoral College system, Maine’s impact as a state is nearly double what it would be under a National Popular Vote (NPV).

Because of the Electoral College system, presidential candidates work to earn Mainers’ support.

But under an NPV system, presidential candidates would spend all their time and resources in the urban population centers of America in order to win.

Maine would be left behind.

Advocates for NPV argue it is unfair that votes as individual Maine people count more than the individual votes of people in large states such as New York and California. They tell us that, for the sake of fairness, Mainers should surrender their voting power.

By that logic, Maine shouldn’t have two U.S. senators either.

Maine has 4% percent of the vote in the U.S. Senate, despite only having 0.4% of the national population.

Maine senators’ votes are 10 times more powerful than they would be if we only measure population.

Out of a sense of fairness, NPV advocates must believe Senators Susan Collins and Angus King should come home and leave Maine unrepresented in Washington, D.C.

But none of these constitutional designs are by accident.

Americans are not 325 million undifferentiated individuals living under a single national government. We are all proud of the states we live in and need equal representation.

The current system is not perfect, but it was established so small states such as Maine would have a voice in the federal government. For a large and diverse country, it is an incredible system that favors candidates who appeal to diverse interests and not only to big population centers.

It would be a tragic betrayal of the Maine people for Democrats in Augusta — aided by a radical Secretary of State — to surrender Mainers’ voting power to big cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Maine people deserve better.

Maine people deserve a real voice in the federal government.

Sponsor:

Representative BELL of Yarmouth  - Arthur.Bell@legislature.maine.gov 846-0148

----------------Previous Public Hearings ----------------

Public Hearing MONDAY April 26   9:00 AM

LD 1375 "An Act To Permit Online Absentee Voting"

AGAINST

Summary: This bill allows registered voters to cast absentee ballots by electronic means approved by the Secretary of State.

Sponsor:

Representative Maureen Terry Democrat

email Maureen.Terry@legislature.maine.gov
9 Lombard Street, Gorham, ME 04038
Cell: (207) 712-9735

Suggested Testimony:

Dear Members of the Committee on Veteran and Legislative Affairs,

Please vote “no” on LD 1375 "An Act To Permit Online Absentee Voting”.

Returning ballots electronically is not secure. On-line hacking becomes more complex by the minute in our world today. On-line fraud and interventions are now a way of life unfortunately and I do not want my vote super-ceded, eliminated, or overlapped by fraudulent or fake votes. If people can steal my credit card information while I am innocently pumping gas, they can also manipulate an on-line voter database that offers a far greater bounty than my credit line. Our vote is sacred, and to me that means keep it safe.

The direction I ask our legislators to take in the election process is to be more vigilant and ensure that our vote is secure. If Maine holds a high record number for voter turn out, then the enormous legislative push to make “voting more accessible” is an unnecessary priority. Voter identification is needed now more than ever because the the potential for internet interference, hacking and break downs continue to grow. Voter ID is a simple and honest solution to ensure our votes are valid.

Contrary to what our Secretary of State testified, voter ID is not “rooted in white supremacy”. If that were true, then our entire way of life could be construed as racist because personal identification is required for nearly everything we do. Please refer to the list below.

It greatly concerns me that so many bills are being proposed to change the way we vote when one party has an overwhelming majority. Voting is not a partisan issue. Our election system should not be abused by the majority in authority.

Thank you for considering my testimony and for representing the people of Maine.

More Information:

See testimony from Verified Voting

Click HERE to Testify

Instructions:
1. click on link above ( https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/ )
2. Select Public Hearing and the Committee name
3. Choose the date and time

4. Select the LD # and type in your information and testimony

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