A conservative advocacy group has stepped into the public debate over same day voter registration in maine. the Maine Heritage Policy Center has created a ballot question committee to oppose the restoration of registration on election day. Supporters of the so-called “people’s veto” effort, who want same day registration restored to Maine law, said the conservative group must disclose its funders. The MHPC said it is not about to agree to that request.
Earlier this year, Republicans in Augusta pushed through a change in Maine law, eliminating same-day voter registration in the state. To support the move, they’ve tried to create a link to cases of voter fraud. Supporters of same-day registration said the fraud issue has no merit whatsoever, and have launched a people’s veto campaign to restore the old law. But Lance Dutson of the Maine Heritage Policy Center said that an investigation into sample ballots by Secretary of State Charlie Summers indicates there are significant flaws in the process. “What our concern is that Maine’s structure right now doesn’t provide any real protections against fraud — basically folks are on the honor system,” Dutson said.
… Those who support same day registration say they want to know who is funding the opposition and how much they’re contributing to the cause. David Farmer, a spokesman for the Protect Maine Votes Coalition said concerns are being raised about a national strategy to restrict voter access to the polls funded by the conservative, billionaire Koch Brothers of Wichita, Kansas.
“Whether it’s the Koch Brothers who someone else, it’s legitimate for people to ask the source of funding in a political campaign,” Farmer said.
ut that’s not likely to happen, said the Heritage Policy Center’s Lance Dutson. Dutson said that as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization — funders are not made public and he said private donations to the center can then be transferred into its ballot question committee.
Full Article: Opponents of Same-Day Voter Registration Mobilize, Draw Criticism.