elections

James Clark, who lives in Washington County, describes himself as a moderate who decided to jump into politics after deciding he could no longer stay on the sidelines as he watches the political parties produce pre-scripted, branded candidates.

Maine is one of the states that the Department of Justice has sued because Bellows' office has refused to comply with requests for voter roll information as part of the agency's election integrity efforts.

That's significantly lower than during presidential years but was higher than the past two, referendum-only elections in the state.

Maine voters will cast ballots on two statewide referendum questions as well as local races during the off-year election.

The incident, in which 250 ballots were reportedly found inside an Amazon box that had been tampered with, has prompted conservatives to call for a federal investigation and for the resignation of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

Rep. Ed Crockett says he unenrolled as a Democrat to run as an independent because he feels both major parties have "lost their way" and become too entrenched in partisan sniping to get things done.

The governor was responding to the Trump administration's latest lawsuit against Maine, this time seeking complete copies of the state's voter registration files.

Daira Rodriguez-Smith, who lives in Biddeford, vowed to bring her auditing and financial accountability skills to DC if elected. She is one of eight Democrats — with more potentially coming — hoping to challenge Collins next fall.

The Department of Justice says the detailed data is needed to ensure Maine is accurately maintaining its voter rolls. But Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, says the DOJ is overstepping its bounds as part of a "fishing expedition."

The well-known progressive from Vermont also used the event to boost two Democratic candidates for statewide office in Maine: former Senate President Troy Jackson, who is running for governor, and U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner.