Hon. Fredette: We need to protect Maine elections from foreign influence
Here in Maine, I firmly believe that we’re at a crossroads in our policy process, specifically in elections and how we govern ourselves. Over the last two years, our state experienced something that, to my knowledge, has never happened before: a foreign government, through a Connecticut-based subsidiary, launched a political action committee (PAC) to influence the outcome of a referendum that was initiated by more than 80,000 registered Mainer voters and citizens. The referendum ...
Rep. Grohoski: Protect Maine elections
...Regardless of how you voted on Question 1 last November, I hope that you will agree with Rep. Faulkingham and me that foreign government entities should not be permitted to electioneer in our state. We should count ourselves lucky that the only foreign government to have exploited this loophole so far has been Canadian. We cannot leave ourselves vulnerable to the risk that hostile governments will exploit it in the ...
Rep. Carlow: Keep foreign money out of Maine elections
Here in Maine, we’re seeing more and more influence by foreign governments over our everyday lives. Versant, a major power utility company based out of Bangor, is owned wholly by a foreign government and recently, Maine endured the most expensive referendum election in Maine history with the majority of the funding coming from Hydro-Quebec, a Crown Corporation owned entirely by a foreign government, and CMP/Avangrid, subsidiaries of a Spanish multinational ...
Rep. Faulkingham: Protecting Maine’s elections is not a partisan issue
...When viewing a campaign ad, Mainers shouldn’t have to read the fine print to understand if the message is being promoted by foreign governments looking to advance a foreign agenda. Leaving this dangerous loophole open is un-American and a threat to national security. Thankfully, the Protect Maine Elections initiative provides us with the opportunity to take matters into our own hands to solve this problem ourselves. Regardless of where you ...
Kyle Bailey on WGAN
Kyle Bailey, PME Campaign Manager, joined Aaron Chadbourne on WGAN to discuss the future of the campaign. Listen Here
Press Release: Protect Maine Elections aims for 2023 ballot
Signature collection will continue over the spring and summer STATEWIDE- Following an impressive winter signature gathering effort, the Protect Maine Elections campaign is today announcing that it will continue collecting signatures in order to qualify its critically important initiative for the 2023 statewide ballot. Protect Maine Elections (PME) seeks to give Mainers the opportunity to vote on a statewide referendum that will: Eliminate campaign spending by foreign governments in Maine elections; ...