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| Maine Gov. Paul LePage, 12/21/11. (photo: RumfordMeteor.com) |
30 December 11
ast month, Maine voters delivered a major rebuke to Gov. Paul LePage (R) and the Republican-held legislature when they approved a referendum restoring election day voting registration rights in the state. Earlier this year, state legislators passed a bill repealing the state's 38 year-old law allowing citizens to register at the polls on election day.
Tens of thousands of Mainers responded by petitioning
for the matter come to a referendum. Issue 1 was one of the
most-anticipated votes on election day this year, with pundits watching
closely to see how citizens would react to the Republican-led war on voting, which ramped up in states across the country this year.
Recognizing the referendum's importance, voting rights
opponents poured money into the campaign to repeal election day
registration. In fact, just two days after the state's campaign finance
reporting deadline, a secret conservative donor funneled $250,000 into the race, allowing the No On 1 campaign to make significant TV ad buys in an inexpensive media market.
Per state law, however, the identity of donors must be
revealed within 45 days after the election. In fact, the entire
$250,000 worth of late money came from a single source: the American Justice Partnership.
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