OPINION: Vague Wording on Ballots Could Lead to Mainers Eating Dogs?

Voting should be easy; it should be simple, straightforward, and to the point. For whatever reason, this just isn't the case. Whether it’s on purpose or not, ballot questions are confusing as hell.

November 2 is coming up soon, and Mainers have some tricky questions to answer on very important matters.

Don’t be fooled: Make sure you know what you are voting for in November!

As stated on the Maine Ballot website, question 1, Electric Transmission Line, can be confusing because of the opposite answers.

The question is:

“Do you want to ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region and to require the Legislature to approve all other such projects anywhere in Maine, both retroactively to 2020, and to require the Legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land?”

The part that can get confusing is that voting “yes” means you don’t support it, and voting “no” means you do.

The opposite answers and vague wording of questions can be dangerous.

According to the ballot website, question 3, The Right to Food, states:

“Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to declare that all individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being?”

Sounds good, right? Reading that once and not thinking much about it, I would vote “yes” (in this case, “yes” actually means yes, and “no” means no).

The issue with this question is the vague wording.

“Of their own choosing”... If you read the full amendment being proposed, the only restrictions are for not trespassing on others' property and no theft; There is no restriction on what people are growing and harvesting or how humanely they are doing it.

So, technically under this amendment, I could raise dogs, cats, and children and eat them for my “own nourishment”. Right?

I completely agree with our right to food and spearheading food freedom in our nation, but the wording needs to be more specific, less dangerous, and there does need to be written restrictions.

These are just personal, subjective thoughts being shared here, but something I thought I would bring to your attention.

These are important amendments, they just definitely need to be worded differently. It’s too late to do that, though, so just vote wisely, do some research and read the questions a few times before you fill in that bubble.

Are you ever confused by the wording when reading the ballot questions?