College Dems protest plan to halt voting
By JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Monday, January 29, 2007

Maine College Democrats are protesting a Republican bill that would disallow college students who do not live all year long in the state from voting in Maine elections .

Characterizing it as a partisan attempt at disenfranchising a large segment of Maine voters, Maine College Democrats plan to present their arguments before the Maine Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

"I'm not naive; this is about targeting a demographic that does not vote Republican," Maine College Democrats President Henry Beck said on Saturday. "Instead of trying to make college more affordable or trying to get more Maine kids to stay in the state, they've drafted a bill that would effectively kick thousands of Maine kids off the voting rolls."

But the bill's sponsor, Rep. L. Gary Knight, R- Livermore Falls, said the bill is targeting dishonest voting practices, not Democrats, and called accusations of partisanship "ludicrous." College students who claim residency in Maine but spend summers or holidays in other states pose a threat to full- time residents, Knight said.

"What it does is disenfranchise Maine voters who are paying their taxes," he said. "I want these kids to become part of the political process. But I don't want them to determine who our governor is, and then head back to California or Michigan, or wherever they're from."

Knight said his bill served the interests of both Republicans and Democrats in Maine, and had received bipartisan support.

According to the Web site of the Maine Legislature, the bill, titled "An Act Concerning Student Voter Registration," is cosponsored by eight legislators -- all Republicans.

Knight also accused Maine college students of committing large-scale voter fraud by casting absentee ballots while also voting in Maine elections.

"They laugh about it, it's a joke," Knight said. "They can overwhelm a community."

Knight also said that he had no evidence to substantiate these allegations.

Republicans made similar accusations against college students in the 2002 elections, according to the student newspaper of the University of Maine at Orono.

Beck pointed to this as being a pattern of partisanship and intimidation among Republicans toward students in Maine.

"Our parents and grandparents were the ones who taught us how important voting is, and this bill is the opposite of caring about your community," he said.

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com


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CaptBuck of North Monmouth, ME
Jan 30, 2007 7:18 PM
It is simple Craig, the writer implies in the piece that the Republicans are out to disenfranchise voters. A standard Democratic tactic is to accuse the right of voter fraud, disenfranchisement and election stealing; I attempt to point out double standards and hypocrisy where it exists. They rarely win elections when they are honest; in this past election people who were fed up with the current batch of Republicans (in many cases for good reason) elected conservative, pro-life Democrats to congress. The Democratic leadership used that majority to put in place a far-left power structure that did not reflect the type of Dems the voters elected.report abuse
CommonCents of Brunswick, ME
Jan 29, 2007 9:57 PM
Let me also add, there are Dem Lawyers present to make sure no students are barred from voting for any reason.

I hung around as a couple of students registered and a box number at Smith Union is sufficient to make them a "maine" resident, eligible to vote on every local issue, including bonds, etc.

It might be legal, but it sucks and the DEM's have got a well oiled machine at work here. Republicans, Greens, and Independents are all victims.report abuse
CommonCents of Brunswick, ME
Jan 29, 2007 9:52 PM
TMB craig...since you're from Westbrook I going to assume you're another red dog Dem who knows zilch about Brunswick politics and how the DEM machine works at every level and how it delivers a solid bloc of 500 votes from students for local candidates they don't have a clue about or have never met.

There are persistent rumors that many of these students vote 'back home' via absentee ballot; since there is no way to Xcheck between Maine and say, CT voting precincts.

If illegal immigrants can show up a register to vote, who's to say a student wouldn't do the same?

Yup, I've got the cheat sheet on my Bull. board. report abuse
mainefem of Brewer, ME
Jan 29, 2007 9:42 PM
http://tinyurl.com/25qbv5



Rep. Gary Knight (who sponsored this inane unconstitutional piece of claptrap LD#203 tripe) needs to intensely review the equal protection clause...for starters (or be recalled for sheer stupidity & ignorance, I'm not sure which).

http://tinyurl.com/2bpack

U.S. Supreme Court
REYNOLDS v. SIMS, 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
377 U.S. 533

"To the extent that a citizen's right to vote is debased, he is that much less a citizen.The fact that an individual lives here or there is not a legitimate reason for overweighting or diluting the efficacy of his vote. The complexions of societies and civilizations change, often with amazing rapidity. A nation once primarily rural in character becomes predominantly urban. Representation schemes once fair and equitable become archaic and outdated. But the basic principle of representative government remains, and must remain, unchanged - the weight of a citizen's vote cannot be made to depend on where he lives. Population is, of necessity, the starting point for consideration and the controlling criterion for judgment in legislative apportionment controversies. A citizen, a qualified voter, is no more nor no less so because he lives in the city or on the farm. This is the clear and strong command of our Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. This is an essential part of the concept of a government of laws and not men. This is at the heart of Lincoln's vision of "government of the people, by the people, [and] for the people." The Equal Protection Clause demands no less than substantially equal state legislative representation for all citizens, of all places as well as of all races...."

http://tinyurl.com/33hcrz

*Nowhere* is there proof that on-campus traditional students in Maine vote twice (who are indeed legal residents, BTW--provided they can prove U.S. citizenship via photo ID; & proof of residency status).

I am a Maine Notary Public, BTW.
report abuse
Travis Spencer of Burlington, VT
Jan 29, 2007 8:05 PM
I can't believe this is even an issue. If you are not a resident of Maine you can't vote. Going to college in a state doesn't make you a resident. If you are paying out of state tuition guess what you probably shouldn't be able to vote. This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue this is common sense you can't have non-residents voting regardless of party affiliation. I love how politics has become name calling and we just throw common sense out the window.report abuse
NorwayRepub of Norway, ME
Jan 29, 2007 7:43 PM
As a former Lewiston Resident I have watched out of State Voters register and Vote in Maine..They live here for 9 months but are not true residents...They do not register there cars her in Maine neither do they get maine drivers Licenses. They are temporary visitors with roots outside of Maine and they are trying to make Maine more like there homes before heading back to where they livereport abuse
Craig Burnham of Westbrook, ME
Jan 29, 2007 5:52 PM
CaptBuck, I like how you related this issue, which has already been addressed by the Supreme Court (see Simms Vs. United States) to the Democratic Party as a whole. Please, please elaborate more on this voting issue. Because in all honestly, your argument, relating the 2000 Presidential election to this, is utter crap.report abuse
CaptBuck of North Monmouth, ME
Jan 29, 2007 4:30 PM
This should be easy, if the student has a legal Maine residency they should be able to vote in Maine elections. A legal residency does not mean just showing up at the local polls, does the student have a Maine address other than the dorm, does the student hold a Maine driver’s license or ID. Has the student of parents filed a tax return in Maine? If the student is not self-supporting does the student’s parent reside in Maine? The left does not want to ask these questions because just as with the recent congressional scandals they only wish to rail against the right while ignoring the impropriety of Reid, Pelosi & co.

Remember before the last election? The DNC already had groups of lawyers ready to challenge results from electronic voting machines, they claimed that they would be used to perpetrate fraud. What then happened shows the difference between Republicans and Democrats. When the Republicans lost they handed over power in an orderly way, as is the intent of the Constitution. The only lawsuits filed against the results of electronic voting are by Democrats that lost in two separate state elections. After the 2000 presidential the “Palm Beach Post” (the paper that first questioned the vote) was able to count every single ballot and even by doing the ridiculous (like Gore’s team wanted) such as counting votes for Buchanan as votes for Gore Bush still carried Florida. The Dems still to this day, even the results of the vote were verified by independent sources claim that the Republicans stole the election. They tell us the Supreme Court appointed Bush, yet all the court did was not allow Gore’s challenge and let Florida law stand. The left does no mention the over 14,000 military absentee ballots they got thrown out during the same election. During the 2004 election they screamed the Electoral College does not work yet they were happy with the results when Pres. Clinton won via the same system. According to a “The [London] Dailey Telegraph” piece in 2005.report abuse
Darren McLellan of Cape ELizabeth, ME
Jan 29, 2007 2:34 PM
Another attempt by the Resluglican party (read LOSERS) to change the rules as they cannot win outright. Just need to blame someone, anyone other than themselves.
Note to the Resluglicans, you keep LOSING and will keep LOSING!!! You DO NOT REPRESENT THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS IN MAINE!! You HAVE NOT FOR DECADES!! You’re OUT OF TOUCH!!!!
Step up and change your ways not the rules or remain LOSERS.report abuse
TMB_Craig of Westbrook, ME
Jan 29, 2007 2:32 PM
CommonCents, do you happen to have a copy of those email cheat sheets? Thats a very big accusation your making there, and if you don't have the evidence to back it up, I'm going to assume you're full of crap, just like Rep. Gary Knight.report abuse

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