yes on 8. Everyone should be allowed to vote

[Alan Cobo-Lewis]

Dear Friends of Mainers with Disabilities,

Voting day is Tuesday. Please vote YES on 8, to remove from the Maine constitution the prohibition against people under guardianship from voting. This part of the Maine constitution is against the federal constitution, but it shamefully still lives in the Maine constitution. Enough already.

IMO, voting YES ON 8 is especially important because, in the wake of the Lewiston shooting, I would expect some people who would otherwise ignore Question 8 to instead vote against it.

Press Herald editorial board wrote today at https://www.pressherald.com/2023/11/03/our-view-vote-yes-on-ballot-questions-5-6-7-and-8/

Vote ‘yes’ on Question 8

Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?

Again, a court has found that the provision Question 8 relates to is unconstitutional. People under guardianship for mental illness should be able to cast votes in our elections. Mercifully, these voters do; the state stopped enforcing the provision after the court handed down its judgment.

As in the case of Question 6, however, neglecting to remove this outdated and unfair language from our founding document sends a message that is dead wrong. It’s housekeeping, sure; it’s also a question of respect.