No place for hate in Brunswick

One of the joys of living in Brunswick is being part of an inclusive, loving and caring town. Not everyone is of the same political or religious persuasion, but we’re able to maintain a strong sense of togetherness. It has always felt safe here until today. A neighbor on Hemlock Road put up a racist yard sign that indicates Black Lives Do Not Matter. We reject this message and continue to believe there’s no place for hatred in Brunswick.

Virginia Van Slyck and James Raker,
Brunswick

Support bill requiring voter ID at polls

I am a Portland resident and poll worker/election clerk, and I write in support of LD 1083. This bill requires a photo ID in order to vote.

I am against any state initiative that requires more paperwork, but I support this bill for the main reason that it deprives losing candidates and their supporters an excuse to blame someone or something other than themselves. The fact that currently registered voters only need to state their name and their address to get a ballot at the polling place does give losing candidates an excuse to blame someone or something other than themselves. L.D. 1083 takes that away. Even though I grew up in Portland and have spent almost all of my sixty-seven years here, I recognized only a handful of the hundreds of people who came to the polling place where I have worked the last three elections. The fact is, in our highly mobile society, we don’t know our neighbors anymore. To give assurance to the community, and to take the argument of voter fraud away from disgruntled losers, LD 1083 is more than worth the minor inconvenience to voters.

This bill also requires the Secretary of State to furnish a photo ID to any eligible voter who asks at no cost so there is much less burden to get one of these than to get a driver’s license, passport, or any other acceptable form of ID. It can’t be racist any more than it is to insist on a driver’s license to drive, proof of name and address to cash a check, proof of age when sidling up to a bar, or proof of identification to board a plane or get a COVID-19 shot at the Expo.

Stuart Tisdale,
Portland