An Auburn Democrat has introduced a bill that would prevent Maine voters in the northern, more rural part of the state from awarding an electoral college vote to a presidential candidate other than statewide popular vote winner.
If passed, the bill would ensure that Maine’s Second Congressional District would not be able to award one electoral college vote to a Republican candidate if southern Maine voted by a wide enough margin for the Democratic candidate, as happened in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
The bill, filed by Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn), would make Maine’s Electoral College votes winner take all going forward. The trigger for this happening, if it becomes law, is contingent upon the state of Nebraska doing the same. Nebraska and Maine are the only states in the country that award their Electoral College votes by Congressional District.
The partisan logic of the bill is that should Nebraska, a conservative state, change its laws in a way that benefits Republicans nationally, then Maine, being a Democratic-leaning state, would automatically make a similar change, thereby negating the potential influence such changes might have on presidential elections.
Lee’s bill, LD 1356, is entitled, “An Act to Change the State’s Method of Allocating Electoral Votes from a Congressional District Method to a Winner-take-all Method
Contingent on the State of Nebraska Changing its Method of
Allocating Electoral Votes“.
The summary of the bill reads:
“This bill requires the State’s presidential electors to cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes in the State according to the ranked-choice voting process contingent on the State of Nebraska changing that state’s system of allocation of electoral votes from a congressional district method to a winner-take-all method of electoral vote allocation.”
LD 1356 is a considered a partisan bill because the co-sponsors are all Democrats. Notable names cosponsoring are Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston), Rep. Mana Adbi (D-Lewiston), Rep. Michel Lajoie (D-Lewiston) and Sen. Peggy Rotundo (D-Androscoggin) — all of Lewiston. Rep. Ambereen Rana (D-Bangor) and Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) are also signed on to the bill.
If Maine were to allocate its Electoral College votes by majority rule, it would impact the areas of rural Maine that do not have the population centers of Portland, Bangor, and Lewiston/Auburn.
The existing system is in place to allow the vastly rural state to have a say in the Presidential election. A bill changing the current system, put forward by legislators from largely urban centers, may face stiff opposition. This will play out at the bill’s initial public hearing.
This isn’t the first time Democratic politicians in Maine have attempted legal maneuvers to mitigate or limit the political impact of Maine’s more conservative northern voters.
Prior to the 2024 presidential primaries, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a far left Democrat appointed by Democratic lawmakers, attempted to unilaterally remove President Donald Trump from Maine’s ballots, thereby blocking hundreds of thousands of Mainers from voting for the candidate of their choice.
Bellows withdrew her attempt at rigging Maine’s presidential ballots after a similar endeavor in Colorado was found unconstitutional.
Friday afternoon the bill was referenced by the House Clerk to the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee (VLA) to have a public hearing. This is the first step for the bill to begin its journey through Augusta.
The VLA Committee has jurisdiction over all things that involve the state’s elections.
Once the public hearing date is set by the committee the public will have a chance to testify as well as interested parties that may include the League of Women Voters and the Secretary of State’s Office.
Public hearing schedules may be accessed on the legislature’s website and calendar.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="37243 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=37243">44 Comments
There must be something in the drinking water in the Lewiston Auburn area .
Another “ we control your every action “ democrat speaks out about what HE thinks “ democracy “ is all about . UNBELIEVABLE.
We need to vote these assholes out of office as soon as possible .
This is just one more reason added to the long list .
He is going to tell you who your vote goes to .
Just when I thought the Ranked Choice Scam was the worst thing they could come up with to deny my vote .UNBELIEVABLE .
The same party that wanted national popular vote… until a republican swept the national popular vote.
The democrats one party dictatorship in action.
Yup, take away the citizens right to representation in Auburn, let’s take away that right for the 2nd district, sounds completely Marxist ‘ good kid democrats! C’mon man
The shot heard around the world. Do it and let the games begin.
The Socialist Democrats would ban ALL Republican votes if they could! That’s what they really want! ;ellows proved that by removing the Republican candidate from the ballot!
SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT DOCTRINE:
You can vote for any DEMOCRAT candidate you want, but ONLY DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES!
holy shit , just when you thiink it couldnt get any crazier ! These Dems need a straight jacket and a Pill then off to Guantanimo or El Salvador .. We need to cut this state in half This is Nuts
Dems move to deny. What a suprise from the tyranny of a one party Marxist rule of Maine’s executive, judicial and legislative branches. Portland, Lewiston and Bangor hold all of Janet’s obiedient illegally registered illegal aliens. Not liberty and justice for all.
Look at this stupid face. An idiot non plus ultra. Mainers wake up, don’t vote from this gang.
Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn) IS A LOSER and insane!!!!
Ranked Choice Voting .
National Voting Compact .
Now “ This “ .
WHAT ELSE can they do to nullify your vote ?
They will come up something . Count on it .
Democrats Suck . ALL of Them . ALL .
the art of the deal…. these radical democrat traitors with these stupid bills make republican with bills that are pointless make sense, and seem logical… neither party address real issues and neglects them on purpose… stall tactics, censure shows… pretending they dont fold to the federal gov….etc.etc. all theatre… even this signal crap.. all staged bs distracting from reality
In doing this and his reasoning he demonstrates that he understands the electoral college and think large population centers should control everything.
As long as his party is in power anyway.
This is just another move, as others here have said, to solidify tyrannical control over a state where north and south have different views
We knew this would be coming, they have been trying to figure out a way for years, I am sure our secretary of state Bellows is pulling the strings behind the scenes. As a lifelong Mainer we are screwed, the progressives moving from more liberal states have taken over the southern part of the state and are working on taking over the rest.
These Democrats have nothing but contempt for rural Mainers. They think they are so much better than us. We must make them feel so unwelcome in this state that they move out. We need to display our love for country, wear our MAGA apparel and get in their faces when they push their craziness on us. Put up Trump signs all over the liberal cities and coastal areas. Make our trucks loud and play country music in their faces.
Corrected title
LD 1356 “An Act to Disenfranchise Voters and Manipulate Elections in Favor of Our Preferred Liberal Candidates” Sponsored by by the Democrat Schmucks of Lewiston and Auburn.
Is this Adam Lee another one of Fecteau’s boyfriends ?
American or Democrat, you can’t be both.
If 100 more MAGA voters had voted (in the right districts), it would be a Republican legislature.
If this passes, Republican turnout in the 2nd District will be less, and that will affect the legislature.
Once again, the representatives in Lewiston/Auburn showcase that they say one thing but do another. They all talk about the importance of voter representation, and yet, they are working to silence the more conservative voting block in northern Maine. Indeed, they have done nothing to support reinstating Rep. Libby’s ability to vote and represent their local area voters. Partisan politics at its very worst. In no way is the Democratic Party in Lewiston/Auburn, or the greater State of Maine, doing anything but raising taxes, not meeting their fiduciary responsibility of making sure the healthcare bills of our most vulnerable and elderly are being paid, and seeking more regulation, more control, over everything you do in life. Make no mistake, they are coming for your ability to own firearms. Maine’s heritage of gun ownership and independent living is in jeopardy by these leftist lunatics.
This is nonsense. A reasonable proposal is one vote per county. The majority of the counties get the two votes.
Gov. Mills has a mandate, she defeated LaPage by 13.3 points, which was almost 10 times a greater margin than Trump defeating Harris. Get over it.
@MainePatriot21 they still do but they want to make sure that the candidate now gets 50.1% of the vote and if not hold rank choice voting….
Due to discontent with the politics of Massachusetts, the citizens of the province of Maine became an independent State on March 15, 1820. However, due to the then economical convenience of Boston’s trades and merchandise, Boston’s influence in Maine’s most populated southern coast and settlements on the navigable tidal waters of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers remained firmly embedded. The northern two-thirds to three-quarters of the State of Maine were, and still find, the politics and influence of Massachusetts repugnant. To this day, the citizens of Maine’s Second Congressional District are not ‘Bostonians’. Never have been; never will be.
If “the trigger” for this happening is what the state of Nebraska decides to do, then OUR state government is not running OUR state, Nebraska is! The commies in Augusta have abandoned the Maine people may times before. Usually they base it on what Californias commies decided to do. It is time to stop this insanity and install a state government in Augusta to do what Maines people want! Not Nebraska, or California, or Massachusetts!
They mistake restraint for weakness
Please, can someone tell me where Rep. Adam Lee is from? He is not from Maine and his biography prior to college is non-existent online.
Adam Lee is one of the worst attorneys in Maine. Don’t use Trafton Matzon Frenette law firm.
The public by choice want Maine to be a welfare state. Nothing has changed since Longley produced the Maine Management and Cost Survey. The solution to Maine debt is always defeated.
There used to be many businesses from New York interested in expanding offices in Maine but Maine was afraid of the potential influence that could change the game play. You don’t grow without engagement.
That’s why it’s Despicable Maine….
Easy for someone in the 1st District to propose – to muzzle the 2nd district’s voting rights.
Death to democrat tyrants!
LOL, Common Core Math infects Liberal Electoral ideology.
Guess we don’t need Adam Lee’s cars or trucks either!!!! Screw up adam lee
I wonder whether the Lewiston shooting was a FBI op / false flag. Carter was: already all over their radar (check); on psychotropics (check); hearing voices (check); a milspec (check); and offed himself afterward when alone (check). Corrupt former FBI director Chris Wray visited southern Maine only a few months before (check), along with the Boston Bureau of the FBI (who infamously pulled off the Boston Marathon Bombing false flag operation / drill) (check). I wonder if Golden was given any heads-up? Maybe that’s why he always has that expression of a deer caught in headlights?
And now the devilcrat party in Maine wants to go after gun rights (which are lawfully unassailable, given Article 1; Section 16 of our constitution: “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.”)… and they will no doubt be shrieking, “Lewiston shooting! Lewiston shooting!” all the live-long day….
Just thoughts. Can you blame me though, given Maine’s Marxo-fascist demonrat party’s lawless and unconstitutional aspirations? I see a high potential for civil conflict on the horizon….
Lee is from Vermont originally, I believe. Popped up in Auburn about 15 years ago. Is a lawyer. A real sleaze ball.
So all of the red, turns blue automatically?!?
Does that seem unconstitutional to anyone else?!?
These dems are insane!!
Maine needs to be ULTRA DOGED….from stem to stern…
Fox news this morning has Susan Collins against trans in womens sports.
This all goes back to the redistricting to put Lewiston and Auburn in the second district. The left think years ahead until they can put their plans to use to control conservatives in the second district.
Democrat, they just hate fair / honest elections, they know that right now, with no leadership, or platform, they can’t win a fair election, so they have to cheat!
I served this country for 14 years, and now this dirtbag will take away my right to vote?
Time to split Maine into 2 states. Southern Maine does nothing but spend my money.