Voting is a right and a responsibility

To the Editor;

I register people to vote because I believe voter participation is the heartbeat of our democracy. It is our constitutional right and our moral obligation.

Maine has some of the most accessible voting laws in the country. A citizen can register up to and including election day. If they are registering at the polls they need to bring an ID and proof of residence such as a utility bill or lease that has their name and address on it. It cannot be a P.O. box. If a couple is registering they will each need a piece of mail. 

Unhoused people can register. They will need to go to the municipal building of the town they frequent and provide a non-traditional address such as a park bench or a local shelter. They will need to submit a physical description, under oath, to the municipal clerk in lieu of other residency documentation.

In Maine, felons can vote even if they are incarcerated out of state. They can use the physical address of the place in Maine they intend to return to once released. 

Whether voting absentee, early in person (begins the first week of October) or on Nov. 5 at the polls, your vote is vital. We must vote to maintain our government. As Abraham Lincoln reminded us in the middle of the Civil War, a situation we are too close to repeating, we are a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Jo Trafford 

Volunteer

League of Women Voters of Maine

Portland