Democracy Forum 7/17/20: Election Reflections re July 14, 2020

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine

Who won the Maine primaries and why.
How did Maine elections work under COVID restrictions?
What does it all mean for the high-stakes election in November?

Guests:

Matthew Dunlap, Maine Secretary of State b)
Amy Fried, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Mainec)
Jill Goldthwait, Columnist and former independent Maine State Senator

To learn more about this topic:

As November Looms, So Does the Most Litigious Election Ever, New York Times, July 7, 2020

Election results not expected to be delayed in Maine despite virus changes, Bangor Daily News, July 8, 2020

Poll gives Dale Crafts edge in GOP primary in Maine’s 2nd District, Bangor Daily News, July 8, 2020

Clerks report record absentee ballots for July 14 election, Portland Press Herald, July 2, 2020

What Went Wrong in the Wisconsin Election, and What We Can Learn From It Before November, Time, April 2020

After record primary turnout, Iowa Senate Republicans try to limit vote-by-mail in presidential election, Fortune, June 2020

New York candidates left on hold as primary results trickle in, The Hill, July 2020

Georgia Primary Issues Sow Concerns About General Election, NPR, June 2020

How The Elections In Nebraska And Wisconsin Managed Amid The Pandemic, FiveThirtyEight, May 2020

Prerecorded using Zoom technology.

The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Leah Taylor and Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

About the host:
Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League’s priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board.