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According to the town clerk of Boothbay Harbor, I’d been receiving absentee ballots sporadically since 2018, at times when I was hospitalized or homebound on election days. A few years later I began asking for absentee ballots regularly, and more recently I was informed by that same town clerk (and by our state representative, Holly Stover) that I could receive those absentee ballots automatically.
Researching the implications of ballot Question 1, I learned that if the ballot question passes, I would no longer be able to get my absentee ballot automatically. I would have to request it every year either in person or by phone. I live with disabilities and it is challenging to leave my home. Question 1 could make it nearly impossible for me to vote.
I’m not the rare bird. Lincoln County is the oldest county in the state of Maine, and Maine is the oldest state in the country — “old” meaning elderly people. There are many voters who are not disabled or elderly, but still depend on absentee voting. I see no good reason for this to end with the passing of Question 1.
I urge everyone to vote No on 1.
Kitty Hartford
Boothbay Harbor
