Clerks hand out ballots at the Westbrook Community Center on March 5 as voters cast their ballots in the state’s presidential primary. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Janet Mills lets Maine join national popular vote effort
to ditch Electoral College
By Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily News, April 15, 2024
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine will join an interstate compact aiming to nullify the Electoral College and elect presidents by a national popular vote under a proposal that became law Monday without Gov. Janet Mills’ signature.
After the Senate gave the proposal final passage April 3, Mills had 10 days — including Saturdays but not Sundays — to either sign, veto or let it become law without her signature. The Democratic governor chose that last option Monday, according to her office.
Mills said she recognized “there is merit to both sides of the argument” and “would like this important nationwide debate to continue.”
“While I recognize concerns about presidential candidates spending less time in Maine, it is also quite possible that candidates will spend more time in every state when every vote counts equally, and I struggle to reconcile the fact that a candidate who has fewer actual votes than their opponent can still become president of the United States,” Mills said in a statement. “Absent a ranked choice voting circumstance, it seems to me that the person who wins the most votes should become the president. To do otherwise seemingly runs counter to the democratic foundations of our country.”
WomanUP workshop
The LWVAB ERA team had a table at the recent Chamber of Commerce WomanUP workshop “Seeking Work-Life Harmony,” which was attended by approximately 300 women from the Asheville community. (Pictured are Jimmie Cochran Pratt and Lynne Joshi.)
SpeakUP!
Put our elected officials on speed dial and call them. Then call ’em again. And again!
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Call U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (202-224-6342) and Ted Budd (202-224-3154) and tell them to support Senate Joint Resolution 4.
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Call U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards, 11th District, (202-225-6401) and tell him to support House Joint Resolution 25.
Both resolutions affirm the ERA as the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Free seminars about the photo ID requirement to vote
The State Board of Elections is offering free seminars about the photo ID requirement for voting to help ensure that voters have the information they need before casting their ballot in the 2024 general election. Click here to find out more.
Roco the Voter Registration Wonder Dog & LWVAB volunteers
The LWVAB participates in the Junior League of Asheville’s annual Volunteer Expo at the Crowne Plaza Resort. If you missed meeting us and Roco, give us a call. We’d love to hear from you.
League of Women Voters of the US at the Supreme Court of the United States
Everyone should have the ability to make decisions about their own reproductive lives and futures, including choosing the method of abortion that works best for their circumstances.
About the League
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, volunteer-based, political organization consisting of women and men passionate about our democracy. Born out of the national women’s suffrage movement in 1920, the League continues to work to serve the needs of the voting public and protect the rights of all voters.
Our efforts are two-fold:
Voters Service, Citizen Education – presenting unbiased, nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process and current issues.
Action, Advocacy – following education on the issue(s), action is taken towards enacting policies in the public interest and striking down policies harmful to society.
A just society is derived from a democracy consisting of an engaged and educated public that has faith in the political process.
The League of Women Voters is a membership organization encouraging action and advocacy as a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation. To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, funds are derived from the Florence Ryan Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to building citizen participation in democratic process, studying key community issues at all government levels in an unbiased manner, and enabling people to seek positive solutions to public policy issues through education and conflict management.
The League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County currently offers meetings and events for members as well as educational programs for the public. Quarterly member events include two meetings each year, a Holiday Social in winter and an Annual Luncheon & Meeting in May or June. League action teams and committees also hold regular meetings for the members involved in those groups.
Join us! Check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And check out our YouTube Channel for past meetings and voting issues we’re involved with. Our Calendar and News pages have upcoming events and news. You can also read our Program Priorities and our Bylaws.
Connect with your State League: North Carolina League of Women Voters
Connect with the National League: National League of Women Voters
Our chapter is centered around Buncombe County and includes several adjoining counties. This is the homeland of the Cherokee and other nations. We recognize the sovereignty and traditional territories of these local tribal nations, the treaties used to remove them, and the histories of dispossession. We honor and respect the many diverse indigenous people who came before us, who are still here, and who are connected to the land on which we reside.
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