Latest news with #DemocracyMaine
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Head of Democracy Maine leaving to expand ranked-choice voting push nationwide
Anna Kellar, executive director of Democracy Maine, speaks at the 'Save Maine Absentee Voting' kick off rally on May 10 in Augusta. (Courtesy of Democracy Maine) Democracy Maine Executive Director Anna Kellar is leaving the role after nearly eight years to serve as national organizing director for Rank the Vote, a nonprofit with the goal of adopting ranked-choice voting nationwide. Kellar's last day will be Sept. 12. Al Cleveland, the organizations' advocacy director, will serve as interim executive director until a permanent replacement is selected. In many ways, Kellar's next role will continue the work they championed in Maine while leading Democracy Maine, which is a collaboration between nonpartisan organizations — the League of Women Voters of Maine, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and Maine Students Vote — working to make government more equitable by improving elections, protecting and engaging voters. During their tenure, Kellar successfully pushed for the adoption of ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference, at multiple levels of office. In November 2016, Maine voters approved ranked-choice voting for statewide elections for governor, state legislature and Congress — though applicability for some of those offices was later narrowed to only primaries — becoming the first state to do so. Kellar then led Democracy Maine in pushing for the Maine Legislature to expand the system to include presidential elections. At the municipal level, Kellar helped pass ranked-choice voting in Westbrook and expand it in Portland. 'In this new role, I will bring the values that I learned through my time at Democracy Maine and the League to a national reform effort, especially the power of ordinary people working together to make our communities better,' Kellar said in a statement announcing their resignation Wednesday. 'I am excited to help other states and cities follow Maine's lead and embrace election systems that increase the choices and power of the voters.' Beyond ranked-choice voting, Democracy Maine under Kellar's leadership supported other successful legislative efforts to expand voting rights, including automatic voter registration, online voter registration, ongoing absentee and protections for absentee voting and having semi-open primaries. Kellar also aided in creating the state's first municipal clean elections system in Portland. Democracy Maine also expanded during Kellar's tenure, notably with the addition of Maine Students Vote, which is aimed at increasing election engagement and civic participation on college campuses and high schools across the state. Jill Ward, the League's and Democracy Maine's board president, said in a statement that Kellar has positioned the organization well to 'continue to lead the charge for a government truly of, by, and for everyday people.' Such efforts this fall will be centered on defeating Question 1 on the upcoming November ballot to require voters to show photo identification at the polls and make other changes to state election law, including limiting absentee voting. Democracy Maine also plans to continue to try to expand ranked-choice voting for the 2026 general election.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine organizations join coalition of nonprofits suing for AmeriCorps funding
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways There are more than 200 AmeriCorps volunteers in Maine. (AmeriCorps photo) Three Maine organizations joined a nationwide coalition of nonprofits that sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday after being stripped of grant funding. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, seeks to block the administration's attempt to dismantle the AmeriCorps program without congressional authorization. In late April, the national service and volunteerism agency canceled nearly $400 million in grant program funding. The unexpected move is likely to shutter hundreds of programs across the country and end the work of more than 30,000 volunteers, according to America's Service Commissions. Democracy Maine — which is a collaboration between the League of Women Voters of Maine Education Fund, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and Maine Students Vote — was awarded a one-year AmeriCorps planning grant to develop civic education programs in rural counties that it will no longer receive under those cuts, according to a news release from the organization. 'The federal government flat-out cancelling grant money we were expecting to receive is not only illegal, but also directly hurts Mainers and our communities where we provide services,' said Anna Kellar, executive director of Democracy Maine. Kellar said they are urging the court to 'reverse this policy and release the already-granted funding so we can continue to do the civic education work that is so central to our mission.' The lawsuit was filed by community organizations from across the U.S. along with individual youth plaintiffs who participate in AmeriCorps and the AmeriCorps Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2027. It is brought against AmeriCorps and its interim agency head Jennifer Bastress Tahmesebi, as well as Nate Cavanaugh, the agency team lead for the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE. A coalition of state attorneys general, including Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, last week also filed suit against the Trump administration in an effort to block its plan to shutter the domestic volunteer agency. AmeriCorps distributes hundreds of millions of dollars so volunteers in all 50 states can run programs that increase education access, housing support, youth mentorship, elder care and more. According to the Portland Press Herald, there are more than 200 AmeriCorps volunteers in Maine. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
