Mon, 11/07/2016 - 3:45pm

AUGUSTA - Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills has issued the following statement in response to questions about voting requirements for people in Maine.

"No one should feel that they cannot vote if they are a citizen of the United States, if they are 18 years of age or older and if they are a resident of Maine for however short or long a time. Whether you just retired here, whether you are living with family, whether you are here looking for work, or whether you are taking classes here, the requirements for residency in Maine are straightforward and uncomplicated and not related to stricter requirements for licenses, car registrations or tuition. No one should fear financial consequences for exercising their constitutional right to vote. There are no financial penalties, and it is shameful that anyone would suggest otherwise. I call upon leaders and candidates of all parties to disavow efforts of any sort to intimidate and disenfranchise voters. We should encourage every citizen to exercise his or her constitutional right to vote tomorrow."

For more information on voting residency: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/resident.html

Earlier in the day, Gov. Paul LePage had circulated a press release, saying: “Democrats for decades have encouraged college students from out of state to vote in Maine, even though there is no way to determine whether these college students also voted in their home states. Casting ballots in two different states is voter fraud, which is why Maine law requires anyone voting here to establish residency here. We welcome college students establishing residency in our great state, as long as they follow all laws that regulate voting, motor vehicles and taxes. We cannot tolerate voter fraud in our state."

U.S. Senator Chellie Pingree countered LePage’s press release with her own statement: “It’s very clear here that the Governor is trying to keep college students from turning out to vote in Maine. There are already fliers going around giving students false information about their right to vote here—the Governor should be calling out these lies rather than bolstering them.

“In Maine, we’ve always been proud to have some of the highest voter participation rates in the country. And students—whether they are from Maine or are residents while they attend school—have been a big part of that. They have a clearly established legal right to vote in our state if they choose to do. Their participation in our civic process is something we should encourage, not discourage.”