Maine Beacon -In what has become a distressingly perennial event, Lewiston’s conservative political establishment is once again in the news for using its resources to confuse, intimidate, and suppress young and new voters.
Last week, over 200 recently registered voters in Lewiston, roughly a third of whom are students at Bates College, received an official letter from Lewiston Mayor Shane Bouchard “thanking” those voters for being part of Lewiston’s civic community before warning those individuals that registering to vote qualifies as a declaration of residency in the state of Maine, triggering a series of financial hooks that include requirements to obtain a Maine driver’s license and registering any vehicles within the state.
Student groups at Bates, representing a constituency that votes consistently for Democratic candidates, said the letter reminded them of past attempts to directly intimidate student voters at Bates from participating in local elections–efforts that have occurred with regular frequency over the past several years.
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