Dear Editor:

According to the town clerk of Boothbay Harbor, I'd been receiving absentee ballots sporadically since 2018, at times when I was hospitalized or homebound on election days. A few years later I began asking for absentee ballots regularly, and more recently I was informed by the town clerk (and by our State Representative Holly Stover) that I could  receive those absentee ballots automatically by mail.

Researching the implications of ballot question #1, I learned that if the question passes, I would no longer be able to get my absentee ballot automatically. I would have to request it every year either in person or in writing, with a copy of a photo ID. I live with disabilities and it is challenging to leave my home - question #1 would make it nearly impossible to vote.

I'm not the rare bird. Lincoln County is the oldest county in the state of Maine, and Maine is the oldest state in the country - "old" meaning elderly people. There are also many voters who are not disabled or elderly, but they still depend on absentee voting.

I see no good reason for this to end with the passing of question #1. I urge everyone to vote No on 1.

Kitty Hartford

Boothbay Harbor