Maine Politics & News
The Daily Signal reports on Maine politics with coverage of state government, ranked-choice voting battles, and the balance between rural traditions and urban progressive policies in the Pine Tree State.
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Biden Admin Teams With Conservative Critic as Maine Defends Blocking Access to Voter Data
Maine heads to court Thursday to defend its policy of shielding voter registration records from public disclosure against unlikely allies—a conservative election integrity watchdog and the Biden administration’s Justice Department. The case could have far-reaching consequences for government transparency, press freedom, the First Amendment, and clean elections well beyond Maine, said J. Christian Adams, president…Fred Lucas -
EXCLUSIVE: Maine School Board Asks Church What It Believes About Marriage, Abortion, Gender Before Denying Lease
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A Maine church that outgrew its meeting space applied with the local school board to lease space at a high school for worship services, but the school board appeared to apply a religious test to the church and negotiations fell through. Now, the church is suing. "Public institutions that seek to…Tyler O’Neil -
Supreme Court Tells Maine to Stop Religiously Discriminating. Maine Gets Creative, Does It Anyway.
Last term, in Carson v. Makin, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Maine could not prevent parents from using otherwise generally available state school choice funds at religious schools simply because those schools provided religious instruction. But the state is back at it again, discriminating against families and the religious schools they want to…Sarah Parshall Perry -
Maine Dad, Lawmaker Defend Education Transparency Through Public Records Requests
A bill in the Maine state Legislature would protect transparency in education after a state official accused parents of “hate speech” for making government public records requests. Introduced by state Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris, the bill would codify Maine’s version of the Freedom of Information Act, the Freedom of Access Act, and affirm that the requests…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
Supreme Court Upholds School Choice, Free Exercise in Maine Case
“The state will take your money, but won’t allow you to use it as you know best,” Amy Carson said, in a stinging rebuke of her home state of Maine last year when legal scholars from the Institute for Justice and First Liberty Institute appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a child’s…Sarah Parshall Perry -
Maine and Nevada Show Why the Electoral College Helps Small States, Not Red States
Last month, both Maine and Nevada did what was in the best interests of their states: They rejected bills that would have enrolled their states in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an unwise effort to override the Electoral College. In Maine, it was killed by legislators in the state House after it passed Maine’s…Hans von Spakovsky -
Maine Will Allow Non-Doctors to Perform Abortions
Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill Monday permitting non-doctors to perform abortions in Maine. The law will allow physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to perform abortions, according to a press release from Mills’ office. “Allowing qualified and licensed medical professionals to perform abortions will ensure that Maine women, especially those in rural areas,…Mary Margaret Olohan -
Maine Rejected Medicaid Expansion and Found Success. Now, House Health Bill Would Send Us Backward.
As conversations swirl on Capitol Hill and across the nation regarding the repeal of Obamacare and Medicaid reform, I would like to describe Maine’s success in reducing Medicaid enrollment by 24 percent in the last five years and why our experience is relevant to the ongoing debate. In our corner of the United States, we…Mary Mayhew -
Maine Required Childless Adults to Work to Get Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
One trillion dollars—that’s how much the government spent last year on means-tested welfare aid, providing cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services to poor and low-income individuals. The food stamp program is the nation’s second largest welfare program. The number of food stamp recipients has risen dramatically, from 17.2 million in 2000 to 45.8…Robert Rector -
Maine Doubles Down on Welfare Reform Despite Media Backlash
Mary Mayhew, commissioner of Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, knows her politics aren’t always popular. “I can’t stress enough what an attack campaign it has been from the media for four and a half years,” Mayhew said Thursday at an anti-poverty forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by The Heritage Foundation. Then there are the…Madaline Donnelly -
Maine Sign Language Interpreter Has to Pay Nearly $1K in Fees Each Year to Legally Work
Arricka Nowland is no stranger to fees. Fees to renew her certification as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter in the state of Maine, fees to renew her national certification with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), fees to take required continuing education courses–she’s seen and paid them all. It’s all a part…Madaline Donnelly -
Maine Becomes Latest State to Allow Concealed Guns Without a Permit
Maine passed a measure Wednesday permitting gun owners in the state to carry concealed handguns without a permit, becoming the sixth state in the U.S. with such a policy. Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed the bill into law, confirming a victory for gun-rights advocates who argue the permits do not prevent lawbreakers from carrying weapons….Natalie Johnson -
Maine Senator in Spat With ‘Fox & Friends’ Hosts Over Obamacare: ‘Don’t Lecture Me’
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and the hosts of “Fox & Friends” engaged in a contentious debate about Obamacare yesterday as comments from the law’s architect reverberated on Capitol Hill. As previously reported on The Daily Signal, Jonathan Gruber credited the Affordable Care Act’s passage to “a lack of transparency” and “the stupidity of the American…Kate Scanlon -
Independent Voters Hold Key in Maine Governor’s Race
AUGUSTA, Maine—Outspoken and under fire, Republican Gov. Paul LePage is in danger of losing his re-election bid. One of the most conservative governors in the country, LePage triangulated his way to victory in 2010 with 38 percent of the vote. Independent candidate Eliot Cutler, who siphoned enough Democratic support to give LePage the victory, is…Kenric Ward