November 5 is our chance to #votefor what we know is possible.
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“I work as hard and as much as I can. I haven’t missed a day of work in months - not because I haven’t been sick, but because I can’t afford not to. And I’m not the only one struggling. So I’m voting for moving forward - and for the kind of world I want for my daughter.”
Things feel pretty tough right now...
You’re worried.
Food and gas prices are high everywhere you look. Good child care you can trust and afford is hard to come by. Health care is expensive. Your parents are getting older, and they need more help. You’re worried about keeping your family and loved ones safe. You work hard - sometimes it feels like you can’t work much harder.
You want a choice.
You believe that each of us should be able to live, work, and make decisions about our health and our future with dignity and respect. When people can make decisions about their own reproductive health care, including whether and when to have children, they have more control over their economic security. That’s important - especially now.
We all have people we’d lend a helping hand to - no matter what.
You want the best for them - and you’ve promised to be there when they need you, because that’s who you are.
To keep these promises, you gotta be healthy and available. That means having access to paid family and sick leave and good quality child care you can trust and afford. It means services for your elderly and disabled loved ones.
It means good, affordable good health care and being able to pay for your prescriptions and not break the bank.
It means a home your family can afford, whether you’re paying rent or a mortgage.
It means you get to choose about when and if to have a child, because no one should be able to make that choice for you or your loved ones.
Our elected representatives are our community members. We can hold them accountable so they carry our values to Augusta when making decisions on issues that matter to us: prioritizing the needs of working families. On November 5, we need to elect people who believe in valuing and compensating our work so Maine women can meaningfully participate in the workforce and support our families and people we love.
Over the last two years, here’s how legislators who care about working people and families prioritized us:
Passed Paid Family & Medical Leave
Maine people should be able to take care of family members without losing their financial security. Maine’s new program will allow us time to care for a sick family member or to bond with a child after birth, adoption, or foster placement. Victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking can also take leave to work toward safety.
Made child care more affordable
Legislators made child care more affordable to working families by supporting child care workforce salaries improvements and increasing access to Head Start. Legislators also passed policies requiring the state to take a look at the true cost of child care in Maine so we can figure out ways to reduce those costs through new policies or by other means.
Made health care more affordable
We all have a right to be healthy without breaking the bank. Legislators passed policies that make sure women’s health care needs like mammograms and birthing recovery are covered through public and private health insurance.
They also expanded the Medicare Savings Plan, and capped prescription drug costs.
Protected & strengthened our rights to choose
During the last legislative session, legislators stood by us by protecting and strengthening our rights to make our own decisions about our reproductive healthcare. They heard us loud and clear: Maine people should have the right to make those choices with our health care providers - without interference from politicians or others states.
Supported family caregivers
In the last two years, legislators supported people who are caregivers to dependents - children, or adult children with serious disabilities - through voting for tax credits.
Family caregivers provide more than $2 billion worth of care each year. These tax credits offer important support for our families.
Created a wage supplement for direct care workers
It’s important for direct care workers to make a living wage - especially in a state where the need forcare is increasing.
Legislators passed policies that will increase care workers’ wages without raising care costs for older and disabled family members. This will attract more new workers to the field so that care is both affordable AND available.
Take action for people you care about: vote for people who will work hard for us.
We have the power to elect leaders from our communities who will push for policies that help us get food on the table, take the prescriptions we need to stay healthy, and safeguard our rights to make decisions about our lives.
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Maine has online voter registration - check it out!
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The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 days before the election. You can return your absentee ballot request form through the mail, in person at your town hall, or online. Completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
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We're getting out the vote because we care - about friends, family, and our future. Make sure your family and friends are joining you in voting for people who will work hard for families like yours. Send them this link to register to vote!
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You can ask local candidates about their position on issues that matter to you. Here are some ideas:
Women are more likely to reduce their work hours or leave the workforce altogether once they have a child due to lack of affordable childcare.What ideas do you have to support affordable child care for working families?
Would you support proposals like expanding supports like the childcare subsidy or the child tax credit, so more Maine families can afford quality child care?
Would you support proposals that would provide funding to Maine child care providers to increase their ability to provide quality child care for Maine families?
The ‘care workforce’ is mostly women. They often make less than a living wage. Undervaluing these workers’ labor adds to the pay gap between men and women. This makes it hard to recruit workers and more women have to leave the workforce because they can’t find the care they need.
How would you work toward making sure that child care workers and direct care workers make a living wage and have good benefits through their employer?
What policies would you support to help care workers while also making their services (child care, health care, etc.) affordable to those who need them?
Unpaid caregivers often have to take time off of work or leave the workforce entirely to take care of a sick or aging loved one at home. What kind of policies would you support to help unpaid caregivers make ends meet?
In 2023, the legislature passed paid family and medical leave. Do you support the law as it was written? Are there changes you would make?
When people can make decisions about their own reproductive health care, including whether and when to have children, they have more control over their health and economic security.
Do you support a person’s right to make their own reproductive choices?
Do you support efforts to protect and expand laws establishing the right to abortion?
What kind of policies would you support to ensure Maine people have more and ongoing access to reproductive health care, such as abortions, birth control, and preventative health care?
Do you support efforts to increase access to affirming birthing tools such as midwifery, doulas, out of hospital birth, or birthing center expansion?