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Independent running for Maine Senate seat offers invitation, gives instructions on how to write-in his name

By Ross Levin on November 3, 2008 6:51 PM

Excerpts from an email from Herbert Hoffman, an independent running to represent Maine in the US Senate:

INVITATION! I am having an election night gathering at my home in Ogunquit beginning at 7:30 PM. The address is 42 Juniper Lane and I am requesting an RSVP by 9 PM tonight so that we can plan. Call 646-5431 or email [email protected] In true grassroots fashion this is a “pot luck” event.
And information about writing in his name:
Maine election law pertaining to the counting of write-in votes was changed in 2007. The old law said that in order for a write-in vote to be counted, the voter must write in the name and the town of residence of the voter, and then check the box next to the write-in position on the ballot. Under that old law, a vote for any real person who met the requirements of office in that particular race (age, residence, etc.) would be counted.

Under the new law, no write-in vote is counted unless the candidate has filed a declaration with the Maine Secretary of State, giving notice of the write-in candidacy and indicating a willingness to serve if elected. I have done that, and thus, according to the Secretary of State, am a qualified candidate. (In all, 25 candidates have filed as declared write-in candidates.)

The Secretary of State’s office, as required by state law, has issued instructions to each municipal clerk making them aware of this new law. Unfortunately, some clerks may not have read it all, and still believe that a write-in vote must include the municipality. And the media has not reported on this new law. As a result, it’s possible that a write-in vote without the municipality may not be counted even though the ruling from the Secretary of State is clear that such a vote for a declared write-in candidate should be counted.

The only way to guarantee that all votes for declared write-in candidates are counted is to either have an assurance from your municipal clerk or the election official supervising your precinct that they understand and will comply with the new law, or to be present at the polling place as the ballots are counted and speak up if ballots are not counted correctly.

So I’m asking you to do four things.

  1. If you have not already voted, be sure you do get out to vote Tuesday, and write in “Herbert Hoffman, Ogunquit” in the spot for a write-in vote for U.S. Senate
  2. Contact your local election officials, and make sure they understand the new rules. If they have any questions, refer them to the notice they received from the Secretary of state entitled “UNIFORM GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING VOTER INTENT.” (A copy of this document, along with several pages from the Maine Election statues, is available on our web page. Go to www.HoffmanforSenate.us and click on the link at the upper right that says “Maine_Election_Laws_Pertaining_to_Write-in_Voting.”
  3. If at all possible, please be at your polling place or election center after the polls close Tuesday night to observe the counting of the ballots. State law says ballots must be counted in public, so you have a right to be there to observe. Pay attention to the counting of the write-in votes, and if you see that ANY write-in vote of a declared candidate is not being counted because the municipality was not included, or the box was not checked, speak up, and debate that the vote be counted. Both federal and Maine law makes it clear that voter intent trumps any technical violation of the voting instructions.
  4. If you did cast a write-in vote for me, please email the campaign and confirm that you did so. This will allow us to cross check the election results that are reported by the towns.

If you experience any problems at the polling place, please call out campaign immediately and let us know. On Tuesday, call 207-332-8026 or 207-234-4226.