I would like to invite Scarborough residents to obtain a copy of my voter registration card from the town office. In spite of what the Protect Maine Votes coalition alleges, I did not register to vote on an election day. My card is dated Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1999, but was not processed by the registrar until Oct. 30, 1999, a Saturday. The fact that the registrar was in on a Saturday prior to an election even before voters started using absentee ballots so frequently is, actually, evidence that changes in our election procedures are needed.

The right to vote is a precious one that none of us should fail to take seriously and it should be protected. We meet deadlines all the time in life, whether it’s getting to school or work on time, taking medications, paying our taxes or mailing a bill. Asking voters to register to vote before the end of business on the Thursday before an election day is not a burden. If someone has trouble getting to the town office more than once, they can register after absentee ballots have become available and vote then. Residents can also register to vote through the mail, at the BMV, at their nursing home and at Town Hall when they are registering their car, buying a beach pass, or paying their taxes.

I urge you to vote your conscience on this matter in November. It is my belief that few, if any, elections will be changed with or without this law.

State Rep. Amy Volk
Scarborough

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