Podcasts about clean elections

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 24, 2025Federal First Circuit Deems Maine Ballot Initiative Limiting Foreign Spending in State Elections Likely UnconstitutionalThe voices of 86% of Maine voters were silenced July 14th as a federal appeals court found a 2023 ballot initiative limiting political spending by foreign-owned corporations likely violates the Constitution's right to free speech.Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Maine Public Radio – Question 2 passes, banning foreign electioneering in MaineState of Maine – §1064. Foreign government campaign spending prohibitedAmerican Democracy Minute - After a Canadian Utility Spent $22 Million Dollars to Influence a Ballot Measure, Maine Voters Ban Foreign Money in State ElectionsMaine Morning Star - First Circuit rules Maine ban on foreign government election spending likely unconstitutional First Circuit Court of Appeals (via Election Law Blog) -  Opinion in CENTRAL MAINE POWER v. MAINE COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENTAL ETHICS AND ELECTION PRACTICESMaine Morning Star - Another voter-backed Maine law regulating campaign finance halted, but the case is far from overGroups Taking Action:Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, League of Women Voters Maine, American Promise, End Citizens United, Represent.UsPlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Maine #EndBigMoney #ForeignInfluence #Question2

In this fiery and detailed monologue, the host shares firsthand experiences and long-held concerns about systemic voter fraud, focusing on North Carolina and Arizona. Drawing from years of reporting, he alleges widespread use of "ghost voters," fraudulent registrations, and last-minute vote dumps in Democrat-controlled precincts — particularly in Charlotte — that flipped election results. He recounts private conversations with former Governor Pat McCrory, explaining how fears of being labeled racist prevented meaningful voter roll cleanups, ultimately costing McCrory his seat. The episode also celebrates a recent legal victory in Arizona, where 50,000 illegal immigrant registrations were ordered removed from voter rolls — including 36,000 who voted in 2020. With direct attacks on the media, election officials, and the DOJ, the host argues that illegal votes have deeply undermined electoral integrity and calls for sweeping reforms before 2024.

In this episode, I sit down with Craig Pendleton, who's running for Maine State Senate in District 31. With Election Day just over a week away, we dig into why Craig decided to run as an independent, the issues that matter to him, and the experiences he's bringing to the table – from his background in the fishing industry to his work with local businesses. Craig shares candidly about his approach to policy, his stance on environmental issues, and his vision for Maine's future. We also chat about his campaign experience, community challenges, and his thoughts on supporting workforce growth and affordable housing. Tune in to learn more about the candidate and his journey leading up to election day! 00:00 Introduction and Election Context 00:43 Craig's Decision to Run 02:08 Campaign Challenges and Strategies 03:48 Clean Elections and Funding 06:29 Local Business and Job Creation 09:44 Importance of Technical and Vocational Education 12:51 Craig's Fishing Industry Experience 15:50 Protecting Natural Resources 17:39 Creating the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance 18:16 Applying Environmental Negotiation Skills to State Senate 18:37 Challenges with Offshore Wind Farms 20:10 Issues with Electric Buses 24:58 Housing Issues in Maine 30:59 Final Thoughts and Campaign Reflections EPISODE LINKS Craig Pendleton for Senate Website: www.pendletonformaine.com PODCAST LINKS

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We want to talk about propaganda: its manifestations in U.S. history and currently, its hallmarks, its sponsors, its uses and effects. How do we define propaganda? How is this different from mis- and dis-information or from run-of-the-mill campaign messaging? And we want to talk about ways that people can recognize propaganda and push back. Guest/s: Michael Franz, Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/mfranz/index.html Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University, and author of the new book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. campuspress.yale.edu/jasonstanley/ To learn more about this topic: Erasing History, Jason Stanley, 2024, www.simonandschuster.com/books/Erasing-History/Jason-Stanley/9781668056912 Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson June, 2024 heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-12-2024 Russia and China Are Winning the Propaganda War | The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/06/china-russia-republican-party-relations/678271/ The Government Needs to Act Fast to Protect the Election | The Atlantic, Gowri Ramachandran and Lawrence Norden, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/murthy-v-missouri-supreme-court/678829/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20240628&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lctg=6050e9c24c8a1e4095007a21&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily Media Control, Noam Chomsky, 2022 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/213835/media-control-by-noam-chomsky/ Propaganda's Progression | Foreign Policy February, 2021 foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/01/propaganda-russia-trump-misinformation-capitol-riot/ Spending Fast and Furious: Political Advertising in 2020, Michael Franz, et. al, 2020 digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/government-faculty-publications/5/ How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley, 2015 press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691173429/how-propaganda-works Master of American Propaganda | American Experience | Official Site | PBS www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/the-great-war-master-of-american-propaganda/ Where Truth Lies | Hidden Brain Media hiddenbrain.org/podcast/where-truth-lies/ Is all Propaganda bad? | Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/propaganda/what-is-propaganda-/is-all-propaganda-bad- About the host: Ann Luther 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. The post Democracy Forum 9/20/24: Propaganda: Is This For Real? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Larry is back in the saddle after having an event with Tucker Carlson in Milwaukee, WI; After former President Donald Trump's second assassination attempt, Democrats have the gall to say he should "lower the temperature"; 1st HOUR GUEST: Manager of the Investigative Reporting for The Daily Signal and author of "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections," Fred Lucas joins the program; Kamala Harris' interviews since the debate just keep exposing how awkward she really is; 2nd HOUR GUEST: Roger Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and Executive Director of Urban Reform Institute, Joel Kotkin, comes on to the show to discuss Kamala's failures in California.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amanda Fritz was first elected to Portland's City Council in 2008. Prior to being elected, Commissioner Fritz was a neighborhood activist and seven-year member of the Portland Planning Commission.  Upon moving to Portland from New York, Fritz began working at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as an inpatient nurse in the hospital's psychiatry department.  She was also the first candidate to win public financing under Portland's Clean Elections system in 2006, though she lost to incumbent Dan Saltzman in the first round of that year's election.  Fritz won re-election in 2016. During the city's fiscal year of 2017-2018, she cast the deciding vote on the Council to adopt the campaign financing reform program "Open and Accountable Elections," which would award public matching funds to candidates who agreed to not take large contributions, or any contributions from corporations and PACs. The system was launched in the 2020 election cycle.  On April 5, 2019, Fritz announced that she would not seek re-election to Portland City Council, saying that she hoped a larger field of candidates would run for her seat using the Open and Accountable Elections system. She retired in January 2021.

Mark Haughwout and I have a problem with Rep. David Cooks attack in the Clean Elections Pamphlet. Mark shares some history on “Clean Elections”, or as he calls it, “Dirty Elections”. Why I've endorsed Eli Crane for re-election. The hypocrisy of “Stop Oil” activists who attack historic monuments while recording it on their plastic iPhones all while wearing cloths made with petroleum based products. Is working hard and hustling dead in America? We share our bad restaurant experience. And the Ten Commandments in public schools. Will Louisiana's new law stand?    —————————————— Please FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to the Jeff Oravits Show! RUMBLE   YouTube   ApplePodCasts   AmazonMusic   Spotify        Also on Twitter and www.TalkWithJeff.com   Disclaimer: The information provided on the Jeff Oravits Show does not constitute legal, medical, financial or tax advice.  All information is the opinions of the host's and his guests.  You should always seek the advice of a professional regarding any of these complex issues to make sure all circumstances of your situation are properly considered.   ——————————————

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We talk about the Maine judiciary. 1. How are judges chosen in Maine? 2. Compare Maine’s judicial selection process to the federal system and to other states. 3. What standards of judicial ethics apply? 4. Are judges in Maine subject to undue influence by narrow special or partisan interests? 5. Are judges in Maine facing escalating threats, the way judges are in other states? 6. What insulates Maine? How fragile are our protections? Guest/s: – Leigh Saufley, President and Dean of the University of Maine School of Law, former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/leigh-i-saufley/ – David Sachar, Director of Judicial Ethics at the National Center for State Courts. www.ncsc.org/staff-directory/staff/david-sachar – Dmitry Bam, Vice Dean/Provost, Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/dmitry-bam/ To learn more about this topic: 1. Judicial Nominations | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills www.maine.gov/governor/mills/about/judicial_nominations 2. Maine Judicial Branch courts.maine.gov/ 3. State of Maine Judicial Responsibility and Disability Committee www.cjc.maine.gov/index.html 4. How to file a judicial complaint in Maine www.cjc.maine.gov/file_complaint.html 5. Can State Supreme Courts Preserve—or Expand—Rights? | The New Yorker, June 2024 www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/10/can-state-supreme-courts-preserve-or-expand-rights 6. Defense attorneys, ACLU question whether new bail reviews for unrepresented defendants are working | Portland Press Herald, May 2024 www.pressherald.com/2024/05/28/defense- attorneys-aclu-question-if-new-bail-reviews-for-unrepresented-defendants-are-actually-working/?uuid=43807610-1735-4ac6-af9e-fed1faa9554c&lid=12766 7. Probate court reform overdue | Editorials | ellsworthamerican.com, May 2024 www.ellsworthamerican.com/opinion/editorials/probate-court-reform-overdue/article_32f84f7a-eadf-11ee-b70f-0f051fa172be.html 8. Maine officials seek suspension of Hancock County probate judge | BDN, April 2024 www.bangordailynews.com/2024/04/10/hancock/hancock-police-courts/seek-suspension-william-blaisdell-iv-probate-judge-joam40zk0w/ 9. Judges and Prosecutors, Targeted by Trump, Will Not Be Intimidated, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, April 2024 lucid.substack.com/p/judges-and-prosecutors-targeted-by 10. Judicial Leaders Praise Federal Bill to Protect State Judges | NCSC, March 2024 www.ncsc.org/newsroom/news-releases/2024/judicial-leaders-praise-federal-bill-to-protect-state-judges2 11. Maine’s chief justice cites progress and challenges for backlogged court system | Maine Public, February 2024 www.mainepublic.org/courts-and-crime/2024-02-21/maines-chief-justice-cites-progress-and-challenges-for-backlogged-court-system 12. Maine’s Part-Time Court | Maine Monitor, June 2023 themainemonitor.org/maines-part-time-court/ 13. Maine courts may take until 2028 to touch backlog of cases | Maine Monitor, March 2023 themainemonitor.org/maine-courts-may-take-until-2028-to-touch-backlog-of-cases/ 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. The post Democracy Forum 6/21/24: Order in the Court: Who's Your Judge? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

On this huge show, Monica unpacks long-awaited offensive moves pushing back on the Left’s multiple assaults, including Congress moving to hold Attorney General Garland in Contempt for stonewalling the classified documents case against Biden, and the NY show trial against Trump. She also discusses the announced presidential debates with a word of warning. Monica then does a critically important DEEP DIVE into election issues from 2020 through 2024 with Joe and Jim Hoft, founders of the Gateway Pundit, who expose the irregularities of past cycles, what still needs to be done to ensure a clean election in November and how we can all help. A MUST-HEAR! Birch Gold: Text MONICA to 989898 and get your free infokit on gold

On this huge show, Monica unpacks long-awaited offensive moves pushing back on the Left’s multiple assaults, including Congress moving to hold Attorney General Garland in Contempt for stonewalling the classified documents case against Biden, and the NY show trial against Trump. She also discusses the announced presidential debates with a word of warning. Monica then does a critically important DEEP DIVE into election issues from 2020 through 2024 with Joe and Jim Hoft, founders of the Gateway Pundit, who expose the irregularities of past cycles, what still needs to be done to ensure a clean election in November and how we can all help. A MUST-HEAR! Birch Gold: Text MONICA to 989898 and get your free infokit on gold

Amanda Fritz was first elected to Portland's City Council in 2008. Prior to being elected, Commissioner Fritz was a neighborhood activist and seven-year member of the Portland Planning Commission.  Upon moving to Portland from New York, Fritz began working at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as an inpatient nurse in the hospital's psychiatry department.  She was also the first candidate to win public financing under Portland's Clean Elections system in 2006, though she lost to incumbent Dan Saltzman in the first round of that year's election.  Fritz won re-election in 2016. During the city's fiscal year of 2017-2018, she cast the deciding vote on the Council to adopt the campaign financing reform program "Open and Accountable Elections," which would award public matching funds to candidates who agreed to not take large contributions, or any contributions from corporations and PACs. The system was launched in the 2020 election cycle.  On April 5, 2019, Fritz announced that she would not seek re-election to Portland City Council, saying that she hoped a larger field of candidates would run for her seat using the Open and Accountable Elections system. She retired in January 2021.

In this edition, the push for Congressional Term Limits is explained by two proponents, Rachel McCubbin (Kentucky State Chair for U.S. Term Limits or USTL) and Calvin Leach, Republican candidate for KY State Senate, District 37. Listen as Ruth and her co-host, Victoria Strange pose questions and offer their own perspectives on whether they think Term Limits is all it's cracked up to be. Ruth suggests an alternative means of reducing the corrupting influence of money in politics, namely Clean Elections. Here are some helpful links: http://www.cleanelectionssandiego.org/faq/ https://www.azcleanelections.gov/what-is-a-clean-election https://www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher/about-the-program

Dateline New Haven: Clean Elections by WNHH Community Radio

Another election, another case of voter fraud, another ding to America's election system. In ten years, will people even want to vote any more? Democrats have certainly been able to accomplish great things when it comes to turning Election Day into Election Days then Election Week and in many cases, even Election Month. The more the left is able to stretch out elections, the more their opportunities to commit fraud. Just look at the recent "shocking" case of fraud a judge found in Connecticut, so bad he threw out the election results. Fred Lucas, author of "The Myth of Voter Suppressions: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections," warns we're in for a long 2024 presidential election season.

Fred Lucas, Manager of Investigative Projects for the Daily Signal joins the Marc Cox Morning Show to talk about his new book: The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections.  The book goes into the Democrats tactics to get voter reform.  

In the 3rd hour of the Marc Cox Morning Show: More on the passing of Bobby Knight Former Senator Jim Talent joins Marc & Kim to talk about Cori Bush's latest tweets that are perceived by the local Jewish community as Anti-Semitic Fred Lucas, Manager of Investigative Projects for the Daily Signal joins the Marc Cox Morning Show to talk about his new book: The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections.  The book goes into the Democrats tactics to get voter reform.   First Responder Spotlight - Belleville Police Dept. - Matthew Eiskant Coming up:  Shannon Bream, Sen. Josh Hawley, and Griff Jenkins

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 07-20-23 Fred Lucas, White House correspondent from the Daily Signal, talks about the new Biden administration press corps rules that seem to be pushing conservative media correspondents out of the room. (https://www.dailysignal.com) (@FredLucasWH) Get Fred's new book "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections" here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637587856 https://newstalkstl.com/24/7 Livestream: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamRumble: https://rumble.com.NewsTalkSTLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 07-20-23 Fred Lucas, White House correspondent from the Daily Signal, talks about the new Biden administration press corps rules that seem to be pushing conservative media correspondents out of the room. (https://www.dailysignal.com) (@FredLucasWH) Get Fred's new book "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections" here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637587856 Francis Howell School Board looks at phasing out an anti-racism resolution from a previous school board. IRS whistleblowers and the Congressional hearings. The Left gets triggered by country artist Jason Aldean's new song "Try That In A Small Town".  https://newstalkstl.com/24/7 Livestream: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamRumble: https://rumble.com.NewsTalkSTLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show, Monica does a deep examination of election rigging and fraud - how the Left gets away with it and how we can fight it - with election integrity OG Catherine Englebrecht of True The Vote.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's show, Monica does a deep examination of election rigging and fraud - how the Left gets away with it and how we can fight it - with election integrity OG Catherine Englebrecht of True The Vote.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections executive director Melissa Price Kromm discusses the need to preserve and protect the institutions of our democracy and some recently introduced legislation at the General Assembly that would advance that cause. The post North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections executive director Melissa Price Kromm appeared first on NC Newsline.

North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections executive director Melissa Price Kromm discusses the need to preserve and protect the institutions of our democracy and some recently introduced legislation at the General Assembly that would advance that cause. The post North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections executive director Melissa Price Kromm appeared first on NC Policy Watch.

This Day in Maine for Tuesday, March 14th, 2023.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: A number of towns in Hancock County are doing, have done, or are thinking of doing comprehensive planning. So, what is comprehensive planning, why do Maine towns do it? Why should they do it and how often? What comprises a comprehensive plan? What difference does it make in a community, why should people care? Guest/s: Susan Lessard, Bucksport Town Manager Noel Musson, Principal/Planner with the Musson Group Evan Richert, Former director of the State Planning Office To learn more about this topic: Comprehensive Plans: Municipal Planning Assistance Program: Maine DACF Comprehensive Planning: A Manual for Maine Communities Land Use Planning | National Working Waterfront Network Comprehensive Plan | Town of Orland, December, 2022 Priority Strategy: Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design | CDC, December, 2022. The Future of the Comprehensive Plan | Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy May, 2022 A New Era of Equity-Based Comprehensive Planning…Finally | GreenLaw, September, 2021 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. The post Democracy Forum 1/20/23: Comprehensive Planning: Why Bother? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

If you want to know how the State of Maine significantly reduced the influence of big money in political campaigns, listen to this interview! John Brautigan (attorney with over 25 years of experience in campaign finance and election law and former Maine State Representative) and Ann Luther (former President of the Maine League of Women Voters, long-time advocate of Clean Elections and Campaign Finance Reform, and host of the League's monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum) explain the Maine Clean Elections Act and Ranked Choice Voting and how these work in Maine to re-invigorate the democratic process of one person, one vote.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? -A conversation about the election. -Less about how the parties and the candidates performed; more about how democracy performed. -How did the election machinery hold up? -How did our voters and our instituions hold up? -Have our citizens embraced or rejected the legitimacy of the outcomes? -What does it all mean in the context of a bigger conversation about the future of western democracy? Guest/s: Maya Eichorn, Liberal Studies Student York County Community College, and fellow with Maine Students Vote, and affiliate of the League of Women Voters of Maine Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director at the Center for Effective Public Management and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings Steve Mistler, Chief Political Correspondent and State House Bureau Chief, Maine Public To learn more about this topic: Turnout among young voters was the second highest for a midterm in past 30 years | NPR, November 2022 LePage's loss leaves Maine Republicans at a crossroads – Portland Press Herald, November 2022 Midterms pose fresh test for American democracy after two years under fire | Washington Post, November 2022 ‘We're watching you': incidents of voter intimidation rise as midterm elections near | The Guardian, November 2022 Gen Z voter turnout will show just how influential influencers really are | Washington Post, November 2022 State courts are fielding sky-high numbers of lawsuits ahead of the midterms – including challenges to voting restrictions and to how elections are run | The Conversation, October 2022 The end of the debate? Republicans draw the curtain on political theater | US politics | The Guardian, September, 2022 Can the abortion issue save Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections? | Brookings, Elaine Kamarck, August 2022 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. The post Democracy Forum 11/18/22: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

On today's show Fred Lucas discusses US election fraud. GUEST OVERVIEW: Fred Lucas is chief news correspondent and manager of the Investigative Reporting Project for The Daily Signal. Lucas is also the author of "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections".

Gina Roberts, Voter Education Director at Arizona Clean Elections, joins Arizona's Morning News to discuss how to plan your Election Day and what things voters are most confused by. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the guys bring in Melody Jennings with https://cleanelectionsusa.org who say's get out and watch a box and FOLLOW THE LAW, Brazil was stolen from Belsanaro, Bannon for bit, MSNBC reeees over Arizona's Kari Lake, Trump mentions TrueTheVote on Gorka, Jordon on impeachment and GOP takeover, TrueTheVote's public statement, Fetterman on Lemon, and much much more...

Today the MSM focuses on folks watching drop boxes instead of people stuffing ballots in to them, on the phone with Melody Jennings for her public response to Monday's incident at an Arizona Dropbox , TrueTheVote responds to Arizona Attorney General, Cognitive Carbon on preventing cheating, President Donald J. Trump addresses false claims, Chuck Grassley whistleblower, BlackRock and AT&T connected at the roots, Marco Polo Biden Crime Family Report, Jordon, Hobbs, Lake and much much more....

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Panel moderator: John Brautigam, an attorney and consultant with over 25 years of experience in campaign finance and election law, public policy, advocacy, and legal representation. From 2004 to 2008 he served in the Maine legislature and was House Chairman of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. Prior to his tenure in the legislature Mr. Brautigam served as Assistant Attorney General. He previously served as legal counsel successfully defending the constitutionality of the 1996 reforms to Maine campaign finance laws, including the Maine Clean Election Act. Brautigam is counsel for the League of Women Voters of Maine. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Many legal scholars say that the Supreme Court's decision in Moore v Harper, involving the Independent State Legislature Theory, could be one of the most important election law cases for the future of federal elections. If adopted by the Court, the most extreme versions of the theory could destabilize elections. But the Court could adopt a more limited, less disruptive version. Or the Court could decide not to adopt any version. We’ll introduce this issue and some of the potential implications of the case Moore v. Harper to be decided in 2023. Guest/s: Derek T. Muller, holds Ben V. Willie Professorship in Excellence at the University of Iowa College of Law Eliza Sweren-Becker, counsel in the Voting Rights & Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice To learn more about this topic: There Is Absolutely Nothing to Support the ‘Independent State Legislature’ Theory | The Atlantic, October, 2022 Moore v. Harper, Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, August 2022 State Legislature Seeks Unchecked Power over Elections in Moore v. Harper | League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters blog, August 2022 Unpacking the Left's Disinformation Campaign about Moore v. Harper | National Review, August, 2022 The Next Big Threat to American Democracy Is Headed to the Supreme Court | The New Republic, August 2022 Is Democracy Constitutional? | The Atlantic, July 2022 Richard Pildes' on Election Law Blog, July 2022 Derek Muller on Moore v. Harper and Independent State Legislature Doctrine | The Lawfare Podcast: July, 2022 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. The post Democracy Forum 10/21/22: What's At Stake in Moore v. Harper? Gerrymandering and More first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Journalist and veteran White House correspondent Fred Lucas shares on his book titled, "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections" as election denier receipts of Democrats begin to crack their status.

Hour 3: Editor of the National Review's Capitol Matters Andrew Stuttaford discusses the effect of Liz Truss resigning after just 44 days as the British Prime Minster. Later, Journalist and veteran White House correspondent Fred Lucas shares on his book titled, "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assult on Clean Elections" as election denier receipts of Democrats begin to crack their status.

Barney Brenner joins Chris for the show today. Barney is a political strategist, retired local business owner, and occasional columnist at townhall.com A discussion of Arizona GOP dynamics in the upcoming election, the economy, a rescheduled Clean Elections interview with Kari Lake, and Katie Hobbs' fear of debates and spectators at interviews. A real estate report with Pat Sneizek of Sunstreet Mortgage

Episode 2229: Clean Elections For 2022; Dearborn Michigan Continues To Be The Battleground Against Child Indoctrination

Mike discusses last night's canceled interview with GOP Candidate for Governor Kari Lake.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs runs from Project Veritas. Taxpayer funded ASU--PBS--KAET comes to Katie Hobbs rescue after she ducks Clean Elections debate. Sports Intern Ryan Larson talks college football--UA, PAC-12, and national. Talkin' baseball. And the NFL!

Gina Roberts explains why a Q&A with Kari Lake was postponed on Arizona PBS. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine 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, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Checks and Balances: What are They? Are They Working? How the three branches of government check each other: executive, judicial, legislative. Why did it matter to the Framers, and why does it matter to us? Of what importance is mutual and self-regard among the branches: each branch protecting its own institution and backing up the other branches? Is the public one of the checks — with political consequences creating a limit on extremism? Does it seem to be working right now? Why or why not? Guest/s: Andrew Rudalevige, Chair of the Department of Government and Legal Studies, Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government, Bowdoin College Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values To learn more about this topic: Post-ROE, the Supreme Court is on a collision course with Democracy | Vanity Fair August 25, 2022 Opinion | The Supreme Court Has Too Much Power and Liberals Are to Blame – POLITICO, July 27, 2022 Most in new poll say US government needs major reforms, complete overhaul | The Hill, July 13, 2022 The Supreme Court's Role in the Degradation of U.S. Democracy | CLC, July 13, 2022 Opinion | How the Founders Intended to Check the Supreme Court's Power – POLITICO, July 3, 2022 How Viktor Orbán Wins | Journal of Democracy, July 2022 Abuses of executive privilege reveal our system of checks and balances is on life support | The Hill October 24, 2021 Executive privilege is killing checks and balances | MichaelLeppert.com October 15, 2021 Checks and balances on war powers — Defense Priorities, April 2, 2021 By Executive Order | Princeton University Press, April 2021 Checks and Balances in a Trump-Era Supreme Court | Brennan Center for Justice, July 10, 2020 Congress Has Lost Its Power Over Trump | The Atlantic, February 4, 2020 The Unconstrained Presidency: Checks and Balances Eroded Long Before Trump | Council on Foreign Relations, August 14, 2018 Congress's Power over Courts: Jurisdiction Stripping and the Rule of Klein | CSR, August 9, 2018 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. The post Democracy Forum 9/16/22: Checks and Balances: What are They? Are They Working? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

When Georgia and other states began passing new election laws, the political left called it voter suppression. But is voter suppression actually taking place in America? Do safeguards such as voter ID requirements discourage voting? In his new book “The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections,” Fred Lucas dives into the way the Left has used the narrative of voter suppression to further its political agenda. Lucas, chief news correspondent for The Daily Signal and chief news correspondent and manager of its Investigative Reporting Project, joins the show to discuss what he learned as he dug into who is funding the "voter suppression" narrative and the effects that new voting laws have had on voter turnout.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Georgia and other states began passing new election laws, the political left called it voter suppression. But is voter suppression actually taking place in America? Do safeguards such as voter ID requirements discourage voting?   In his new book “The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left’s Assault on Clean Elections,” Fred Lucas dives into […]

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine 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, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Description, guests and links FMI can be found here 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. The post Democracy Forum 8/19/22: Libraries: Defenders of Democracy (Originally aired April 15 2022) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Today, we are joined by Melody Jennings from Clean Elections USA, who shares with us what her organization is doing to ensure ballot boxes are looked after during elections and how you can get involved. Then, we take a quick look at an incident with BLM over the weekend, where an actual victim confronts protestors. […] The post Dark To Light: Melody Jennings From Clean Elections USA appeared first on Radio Influence.

Today, we are joined by Melody Jennings from Clean Elections USA, who shares with us what her organization is doing to ensure ballot boxes are looked after during elections and how you can get involved. Then, we take a quick look at an incident with BLM over the weekend, where an actual victim confronts protestors. […] The post Dark To Light: Melody Jennings From Clean Elections USA appeared first on Radio Influence.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Taxation without Representation: Should DC be a State? What rights of self-determination do DC residents now enjoy? How are their rights now constrained? What are the obstacles to DC statehood? What is the history? What is the racial justice aspect to this issue? Against the backdrop of Maine’s own struggle for statehood and the Missouri Compromise, why should Maine people care? Anne Anderson, Chair of the League of Women Voters DC Full Rights Committee Chris Myers Asch, Visiting Instructor of History, Colby College, and co-author of the book, Chocolate City, A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital To learn more about this topic: League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia – YouTube With Liberty and Justice for All (Except DC) | League of Women Voters, May 2022 The Case for Statehood – DC History Center, with links to other great resources DC Statehood Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, March, 2022 epublicans Used to Back DC Statehood. What Changed? – The Atlantic, David Graham, June, 2021 The Long Fight for DC Statehood – JSTOR Daily, Livia Gershon, February, 2021 When Adding New States Helped the Republicans – The Atlantic, Heather Cox Richardson, September, 2019 Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove, 2019 On the Road with the DC Statehood Toolkit, League of Women Voters of DC, November 2017 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, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn 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. The post Democracy Forum 7/15/22: Taxation without Representation: Should DC be a State? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Issue: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: The courts as protectors of democracy Judicial philosophy and constitutional interpretation The authority and power of the court The peril of the court being political or even perceived as such Guests: Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law Maron Sorenson, Assistant Professor of Government, Dept. Government and Legal Studies, Bowdoin College To learn more about this topic: Decade-long study shows Supreme Court is now further to the ideological right than most Americans | Ash Center, June, 2022 The Supreme Court Is on the Verge of Expanding Second Amendment Gun Rights | Brennan Center for Justice May, 2022 5 justices, all confirmed by senators representing a minority of voters, appear willing to overturn Roe v. Wade | The Conversation, May 2022 The Court and Its Procedures – Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court (2020) : Throughline : NPR, September, 2021 The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, Stephen Breyer, 2021 Nine Reasons that “Originalism” Isn't Really a Thing for Supreme Court Justices, October, 2020 The Law of Democracy: Legal Structure of the Political Process. Samuel Issacharoff, Pamela S. Karlan, Richard H. Pildes, Nathaniel Persily. ” 5th Edition, 2016. Is the Supreme Court a ‘Majoritarian’ Institution?, Richard Pildes, December, 2010 The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn 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. The post Democracy Forum 6/17/22: The Supreme Court and Democracy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: Local news and local democracy. What is a “news desert”? Does Maine have them? What happens in towns that have no institutional news coverage? Does it affect self-governance at the local level? Can citizen or grass-roots journalism fill the gap? Even if we have plenty of citizen journalists, do we lose cohesion without an institutional resource that provides a collective understanding? Guests: Penelope Abernathy, visiting professor at the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University Dan MacLeod, Managing Editor, Bangor Daily News Lincoln Millstein, blogs local news at The Quietside Journal To learn more about this topic: Survival of the Fittest: Can Independent News Media Endure in These Times? | Global Engagement at Georgetown University, April, 2022 New Report On The State Of Our Democracy | League of Women Voters 2021 Local news deserts are expanding: Here’s what we’ll lose | Washington Post, November, 2021 Exploiting the local news desert | Editor and Publisher, November 2021 Islander celebrates 20 years of community journalism – Mount Desert Islander, Faith D'Ambroise, November, 2021 Trends and Facts on Newspapers | State of the News Media | Pew Research Center. June, 2021 The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, 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. The post Democracy Forum 5/20/22: The Demise of Local News: What Are We Losing? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Key Discussion Points: libraries and democracy privacy protection intellectual freedom and censorship informed citizenry, challenges and threats from book bans to funding Guests: Rich Boulet, Director, Blue Hill Public Library Alexandra Hinrichs, Children’s Author and Middle School Librarian at Leonard Middle School in Old Town Alison Macrina, Founder and Director of the Library Freedom Project Jamie Ritter, Maine State Librarian To learn more about this topic: Book Banning Efforts Surged in 2021. These Titles Were the Most Targeted | New York Times, April 4, 2022 World librarians, archivists rush to save Ukraine’s digital history | The Washington Post, April 8, 2022 Tired of years of budget woes, Ellsworth library director leaving for MDI | BDN, April 5, 2022 Schools nationwide are quietly removing books from their libraries | Washington Post, March 22, 2022 Book bans and the threat of censorship rev up political activism in the suburbs | NPR, March 21, 2022 How this Old Town school handled a request to ban a book on sexual assault | BDN, March 18 2022 Prerecorded on 4/12/2022 using Zoom technology. The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, 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. The post Democracy Forum 4/15/22: Libraries: Defenders of Democracy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Steve Wessler Change Agents: Conversations with Human Rights Activists Steve Wessler’s guests are Jesse Graham, co-Executive Director of the Maine People’s Alliance and Ben Chin, the Deputy Director They discussed the current and future work of the Maine People’s Alliance. We also asked when and why they decided to work on human rights and social justice work. We also discussed the following issues: -Jesse Graham discussed the 20 years of advocacy to reduce mercury in the Penobscot River -Ben Chin discussed the campaign to continue same day voting -Both Jesse and Ben discussed possible advocacy efforts in the future. Jesse Graham is co-director of Maine People's Alliance & Maine People's Resource Center. He has been with the organizations for more than 20 years. Under Jesse's leadership MPA has more than tripled in membership. With over 32,000 members reaching one of every 17 households across the state and involving more than 9000 volunteers in a variety of campaigns each year. Through door-to-door canvassing, community organizing and strategic communications MPA is building the power for shifting worldview and concreate policy wins. Jesse is proud of corporate polluters accountable for mercury pollution in the Penobscot River and organizational victories to expand Clean Elections, raise the minimum wage, pass Medicaid expansion and win earned paid sick days. Ben Chin is the Deputy Director of Maine People's Alliance, where he has worked for grassroots social change since 2005. He helped build the teams that won minimum wage increases, expanded Medicaid, and guaranteed workers paid sick days. As a community organizer, he focused on immigrant rights. As a political director, he lobbied on many issues, especially those related to taxes and the state budget, and helped elect dozens of candidates to office. He published Maine's first racial justice policy guide, and a white paper outlining a plan for universal childcare, home care, and paid family and medical leave. He co-hosts the Beacon Podcast, and received the Frederick Douglass 200 award for his contributions to racial justice by the Guardian and Ibram Kendi's Anti-racist Research and Policy Center. About the host: Steve Wessler will soon will be starting his 28th year of working on human right issues. He founded the Civil Rights Unit in the Maine Attorney’s Office in 1992 and led the Unit for 7 years. In 1999 he left the formal practice of law and founded the Center for the Prevention of Hate. The Center worked in Maine and across the USA. He and his colleagues worked to reduce bias and harassment in schools, in communities, in health care organization through workshops and conflict resolution. The Center closed in 2011 and Steve began a consulting on human rights issues. For the next 5 years much of his work was in Europe, developing and implementing training curricular for police, working in communities to reduce the risk of hate crimes, conflict resolution between police and youth. He has worked in over 20 countries. In late 2016 he began to work more in Maine, with a focus on reducing anti-immigrant bias. He continues to work in schools to reduce bias and harassment. Wessler teaches courses on human rights issues at the College of the Atlantic, the University of Maine at Augusta and at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in northern Virginia. The post Change Agents 4/7/22: The Work of the Maine People's Alliance first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.