Least secure election in Maine history
Dear Editor:
Steve Robinson, of the Maine Wire, recently released an article titled “Sleepwalking into the least secure election in Maine history.” He qualified that with a statement “at least since the John Martin ballot stuffing incident 30 years ago.” In his article he expressed concern about the lack of information from the Secretary State, the Governor, law enforcement, or the FBI concerning the 250 ballots found in an Amazon box. That event occurred on Sept. 30, and it appears we will have no information before the close of the Nov. 4 election. This is a concern for any voter interested in keeping fraud out of our elections. What is the “extent of condition?" What else is out there? Nothing or the tip of the iceberg? No one knows. It is ironic that in an election “to ensure honesty in elections” we are dealing with this unknown. We are told that Maine’s elections are absolutely secure and fraud does not exist so what happened 30 years ago?
Following the 1992 general election Republicans flagged irregularities in the voting results and requested a recount. During the recount over 600 ballots went missing from a storage room at the Capitol. Kenneth Allen and Michael Flood, two aids of Speaker of the House John Martin, broke into the ballot storage room through a window to alter the votes on the ballots. The fraud was discovered before the altered ballots were submitted. In theory it did not affect election results.
Aides Allen and Flood pleaded guilty to burglary and ballot tampering. Allen was sentenced to concurrent three-year prison terms and served 25 days. Flood received a lighter sentence. Martin was never charged but resigned as House Speaker (keeping his seat) and went on to be recognized as the longest serving legislator in Maine history with 54 years of service. He retired in 2024 after losing his election.
Maine voters deserve answers, and our state leaders are slow walking this investigation even as voting continues. What are they hiding?
