Absentee Balloting Set to Begin
Filed under: Campaign Trail, Portland Issues
Starting tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 6), absentee ballots will be available at City Hall for those who wish to vote early or who can’t make it to the polls on Election Day. Voting early is a great way to make sure your civic duty gets done, and it’s also a convenience for people who may be elderly, disabled, or caring for small children. With so many candidates, this is likely to be a lively election, and voting early also means you won’t have to stand in line!
Registered voters can request an absentee ballot here, or call the City Clerk’s office at 874-8677. You can also vote early by stopping by City Hall during business hours (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) until Nov. 3.
Need more information about voting? Visit http://www.portlandvoters.com/.
Yes on Measure 4: Voting for Immigrants
Filed under: Articles by Ralph Carmona
Munjoy Hill Observer – November 2010
By Ralph Carmona
Measure 4 simply reestablishes the right of legal immigrants to vote in Portland local elections.
Measure 4 is about being LEGAL: Local voting rights will go to immigrants who are legal Portland residents.
Measure 4 is PRACTICAL. In a hyper-connected and diverse world, the daily functions of Munjoy Hill citizens and non-citizens are indistinguishable. Legal immigrant voting recognizes representation with the taxes they pay and their duty in our armed services to defend American ideals.
Measure 4 is FAIR. Reestablishing legal immigrant voting will allow them to participate over local quality of life issues like road plowing, garbage pick-ups and public school funding.
Do not be fooled by those who use citizenship to deny immigrant voting that once existed in 40 states and territories.
The real argument is about democracy and involves historic struggles over power and interests. This explains why citizens, due to gender or race, were once legally denied voting rights. The first three words of the Constitution are “We the people” — not “we the citizens.” Our Constitution does not mention citizenship as a requirement for voting.
For many, the uncertainties about Measure 4 represent public anxieties similar to what happened a century ago.
During the 1920s, over 7,000 Klu Klux Klan members held a fear-driven rally in Portland for reforms that limited Catholic and Jewish — mostly German, Irish, French Canadian, Italian and Polish –local immigrant voting.
Measure 4 helps reverse the KKK anti-immigrant voting “reforms,” is good for business and will help secure our future. It is true to Munjoy Hill’s quilt-like generation-push, bottoms-up, organic diversity needed for what futurist Richard Florida calls an economic “great reset” of new ideas, thoughts and ways of working and living.
YES on Measure 4 represents what is right about making immigrants a part of Portland’s democracy and its future. Our history is proof-positive that immigration makes America grow and is what will help reset its future.
Ralph Carmona lives on Munjoy Hill and has over 35 years of experience in higher education, community affairs, business and government.
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Carmona for Mayor
P.O. Box 15111
Portland, ME 04112-
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