Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th; do you know how you’ll be voting?
The November elections are fast approaching, and this year there are eight questions on the statewide ballot.
After careful review, the Natural Resources Council of Maine has taken a position on four ballot questions that will have an impact on Maine’s climate, communities, and environment. Read below to see our positions.
Please, make a plan to vote on or by November 7th! Maine’s environment needs people like you to show up at the ballot box and join in building a healthier future for all Maine people, woods, waters, and wildlife.
We’re lucky to live in a state where voting is incredibly easy. With same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting, you can plan to vote as soon as today, or find your polling location and plan to vote on Election Day.
NRCM Voter Guide:
NO on Question 1
What would Question 1 do? Question 1 would require voter approval before any consumer-owned electric utility or many state entities could borrow more than $1 billion.
Why should I vote no? This is a cynical attempt led by Central Maine Power (CMP) to undermine the proposal for a consumer-owned utility by trying to block it through a second vote if Question 3 passes. The question is framed so broadly that it could prevent the Efficiency Maine Trust from accessing capital for programs and incentives for efficiency upgrades to Maine homes and businesses.
YES on Question 2
What would Question 2 do? Question 2 would close a loophole in Maine election law that allows foreign government-owned companies to fund campaigns aimed at influencing the outcome of ballot measure votes in Maine.
Why should I vote yes? Foreign governments should not be allowed to influence Maine elections. Yet, in 2021, Hydro-Quebec, owned wholly by the Government of Quebec, spent $23 million on a campaign to tell Maine people how to vote on the ballot measure to block the CMP corridor. Question 2 would stop this type of activity from happening again. Such entities already are prohibited from spending money on candidate campaigns.
YES on Question 3
What would Question 3 do? Question 3 would create a privately operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned utility to replace the state’s largest investor-owned utilities, serving 800,000 electricity customers in Maine.
Why should I vote yes? The Consumer-Owned Utility (COU) model offers Maine’s best chance to accelerate a transition to clean energy with the leadership, collaboration, and creativity necessary to keep costs as low as possible. Maine has set bold climate goals, and Mainers in all 16 counties are taking actions to address climate change. Now we need our utilities to be active, willing partners in building a better future. Creating a COU is the way to do so.
Read more in our position statement.
YES on Question 6
What would Question 6 do? Question 6 will provide truth and transparency to Maine’s treaty obligations to the Wabanaki people by requiring the full version of the Maine Constitution to be printed.
Why should I vote yes? More than 100 years ago, the State of Maine stopped printing the complete version of the Maine Constitution. The missing sections include language about Maine’s original treaty obligations to the Wabanaki.
The fact that the original treaty obligations were hidden sends a message to the tribal nations that the agreements and relationships between the State and tribal governments are not important or worthwhile. We can honor this shared history together by including treaty obligations in printed copies of Maine’s constitution.
You can find a full guide of the questions that will appear on your ballot on the Secretary of State’s website.
Thank you for your continued support of Maine’s environment, and for doing your civic duty.
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