|
Good morning. It's Sunday, June 2. Back in March, I was lucky enough to spend a few days at a conference in California, learning from my colleagues in nonprofit news (a hardship in the middle of Maine winter, I know). As one might expect from a room full of journalists during an election year, there was a lot of talk about democracy, and a lot of soul-searching about fairly and responsibly covering elections.
One of the things that stuck with me most from those conversations was a plea by Errin Haines, editor-at-large for The 19th, for all of us to think of voting more as a joyful endeavor and a day to celebrate, rather than a chore or a duty to be slogged through a few times a year.
Mainers are pretty good at recognizing the value of participation. The state had the highest turnout in the country — nearly 62 percent — in 2022. But that still means more than a third of the voting age population did not participate. And turnout for local elections and town meetings — which often have a far greater immediate impact on our daily lives — is fairly dismal.
As we turn the corner into summer and into the heat of the election season, I hope you can find joy in it. For our part at The Monitor, we're committed to shedding light not just on the candidates and the issues on the ballot, but on the process itself — on everything from where your ballot boxes come from to how votes are counted. We're launching our elections hub this week in preparation for the primaries on June 11.
Over the coming months, we'll fill the hub with resources to help you be a more informed voter. Have questions you want answered? We'd love to hear from you. We're all in this together.
— Kate |
