With the exception of county-level governance, a recent analysis offers Maine high ratings for the state’s general level of civic involvement and democracy.
Maine tops the country in voter turnout and has made progress in gender representation, according to the report, which is released every two years by Democracy Maine, an umbrella group that includes the League of Women Voters of Maine, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, and Maine Students Vote.
However, research also reveals that county governments have a “catastrophic lack of visibility” since many voters do not know what services they offer or how they operate.
Even though county governments are in charge of disaster management, police enforcement, and other vital services, Jen Lancaster, director of communications, noted that campaigns at the county level are frequently uncontested and go unnoticed.
Signing up to run for county commissioner is really simple, and you may transition into that position with ease. According to her, the general public might not be entirely aware of the ways in which their county government assists them. “County government can impact their daily lives in so many ways that they may not realize.”
In order to attract more people to run for local government, Lancaster stated that her organization would like to see Maine’s clean elections law applied to county elections.
