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Campaign against Maine marriage referendum enters final weeks by Peter Cassels
EDGE ContributorTuesday Oct 20, 2009Opponents of the referendum that seeks to overturn Maine’s marriage for same-sex couples law may have raised more than twice the amount of money as those who support it, but the No on 1 campaign continues to take nothing for granted in the final two weeks before voters go to the polls.
Governor John Balducci signed the bill in May, but it has yet to go into effect, pending the outcome of the Nov. 3 vote. Opinion polls have indicated voters remain evenly divided, but one released last week showed 52 percent of those surveyed oppose the referendum; compared to 43 percent who said they support its passage.
In response to Proposition 8’s passage last November in California, thousands of LGBT activists and their allies throughout the nation continue to answer No on 1’s call for help, but Question 1 is one of two measures voters will consider on Election Day. Washington voters will decide on whether to legalize domestic partnerships in the Evergreen State.
Hundreds of Maine activists and those from across the country have worked for months to persuade voters to reject the referendum by raising funds and volunteering for the No on 1 campaign. They will continue those efforts through Election Day.
No on 1 has raised nearly $2.7 million compared to the $1.1 million Stand for Marriage Maine, the coalition of organizations that has backed the referendum, has garnered. The campaign to oppose the ballot initiative has no debt, while Stand for Marriage is nearly $420,000 in the hole.
This financial advantage has allowed No on 1 to air more television commercials that urge voters to oppose the measure. The campaign, however, continues to leave nothing to chance.
"We’re assuming it’s going to be a razor-thin margin," No on 1 spokesperson Mark Sullivan told EDGE in a phone interview. "We will work right up to the minute the polls close to make sure everybody who will vote no will get there and get their votes counted."
A system is even in place to ensure volunteers don’t contact those who have cast their ballots before Nov. 3. The state’s Vote Early program allows Maine residents to vote either by mail or in person at city and town government offices. The Secretary of State issues reports twice a week listing those who have done so.
"We’ll only call people on Election Day who, according to our records, have not voted yet," Sullivan said.
The massive effort to defeat the referendum underscores the Internet’s impact in marshaling gay activists and their allies; as it did for the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Sullivan seemed to confirm this trend.
"I think it may have," he said."We certainly have been focused totally on what we’re doing here. No one who has been working on the campaign went down to Washington."
"We will work right up to the minute the polls close to make sure everybody who will vote no will get there and get their votes counted." Netroots Nation, a progressive organization that promotes the use of technology to promote causes, raised nearly half ($1.1 million) of the No on 1 campaign’s funds. This figure equals all of the money Stand for Marriage Maine has raised.
In addition to fundraising, LGBT activists have also used the Internet to recruit volunteers.
Protect Maine Equality created a virtual phone bank, Call for Equality, to recruit people to get Maine voters to cast their ballots on or before Election Day. The San Francisco-based Equality Federation also used a virtual phone bank during its National Day of Action late last month that drew hundreds of volunteers to call Maine voters.
The No on 1 campaign also set up a Web site, Drive for Equality, to ask those within driving distance of the Pine Tree State to spend a day or a weekend canvassing towns and neighborhoods, calling voters, supporting its data or logistics teams or taking part in public events.
There was even a "virtual walk" event to raise one dollar for each of Maine’s 35,855 square miles by Oct. 9. Participants set a personal mileage goal and asked people they know to pledge contributions.
Regional and national LGBT organizations have also chipped in money, staff and volunteers.
The Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, has donated $45,000. Its executive director, Lee Swislow, and attorney Mary Bonauto served on the campaign steering committee that made strategic and policy decisions. A Maine resident, Bonauto had successfully argued the case for marriage for same-sex couples before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the landmark Goodridge case.
"With Equality Maine, we originated and led the coalition that strategized and executed the legislative win," GLAD spokesperson Carisa Cunningham told EDGE.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has donated $75,000 and has had several full-time organizers on the ground in Maine. Another Task Force staffer worked with campaign leaders to spearhead local fundraising and provide other support.
"Waves of volunteer leaders are working full time to campaign with voters in the final days," Task Force spokesperson Inga Sarda-Sorensen said.
The Human Rights Campaign has contributed $135,000 to Equality Maine--including $40,000 from hundreds who have donated to its Maine Marriage political action committee. The HRC also provided staff and consultants. A regional field organizer began working full time with Equality Maine from the start of its legislative campaign. And six more staff are on the ground during the campaign’s final months.
Like the Equality Federation, the HRC has also run volunteer phone banks several nights a week out of its national headquarters in Washington. The organization pointed out volunteers have already made more than 8,000 calls and had nearly 2,000 conversations with Maine voters.
Peter Cassels is a recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s Excellence in Journalism award. His e-mail address is pcassels@edgepublications.com.
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