About

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Participatory Democracy: Election Reflections 2020 We will talk about the November 3 general election What just happened here in Maine and around the country What went right, what went wrong What it says about the future of our democracy Guests b: Shelly Crosby, Orono Town Clerk and president of the Maine Town and City Clerks Association Matthew Dunlap, Maine Secretary of State Amy Fried, John Mitchell Nickerson Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine Jill Goldthwait, Columnist and former independent Maine State Senator Meg McCormick, Maine Director & New England Coordinator, Campus Election Engagement To learn more about this topic: Half of Americans Don’t Vote. What Are They Thinking? Colin Woodard in Politico, February 2020 College Students, Voting and the COVID-19 Election, Knight Foundation, August 2020 The 100 Million Project: The Untold Story of American Non-Voters, Knight Foundation Polarization and the Politics of Personal Responsibility. Jeffrey M. Stonecash and Mark D. Brewer 2015 In Suspense: Donald Trump’s Efforts to Undermine Public Trust in Democracy, Amy Fried and Donald B. Harris, October, 2020. Prerecorded on 11/19/2020 using Zoom technology. The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Kirk Earl, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Judith Lyles, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, 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.