Primary elections are June 14th, in addition to a special election in Maine Senate District 7. Your vote makes a difference! Register to vote here.
If you have received an absentee ballot but have not returned it yet, drop it off at your town office as soon as possible and no later than 8pm on Tuesday, June 14th.
If you haven’t voted absentee, make sure you know when and how you’re getting to the polls on Tuesday:
All polls in Maine close at 8pm but open between 6am and 10am depending on your town. To find out what time your polling place opens, contact your town office.
Arrange a ride to your polling place now if you don’t already have one.
Make time in your day to get to the polls - Do you need to take time off work? Do you need help with your children?
Offer to bring a neighbor to the polls with you! This is a critical election and every vote counts!
Headed to the polls on June 14th to vote in the primary? Consider volunteering at your local polling station to help gather signatures for Our Power! We’re hoping to get as many people across Maine to volunteer as signature gatherers on primary day in order to get the consumer owned utility to qualify for the 2023 ballot. Sign up to volunteer on Election Day here!
Political Updates
As we enter another political season, the Sierra Club Maine Political Team would like to remind all of our supporters that you must be a member of the Sierra Club Maine Chapter if you would like to receive updates about endorsed candidates, political volunteer opportunities, and other electoral news. Due to compliance restraints, we are only able to communicate these updates to our members. Please click here to become a member today!
Maine’s Long-Range Transportation Plan Meeting on June 7th
The next public meeting for Maine’s Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) is on June 7th at 1pm—RSVP here. Join for a panel discussion with all of the LRTP and Modal Plan Project Teams. Send questions ahead of time (see comments section in link above), or ask in the Q&A during the live webinar.
The LRTP will serve as the overarching document for communicating MaineDOT’s vision, goals, and implementation strategies. The LRTP covers all modes of transportation, including highways, railways, airports, transit, ports and waterways, and active transportation. Your responses will help inform the objectives, needs, and strategies within the long-range plan that will shape MaineDOT’s investments over the next decade.
Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group
The first meeting of the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group was on May 26th. As you know, our staffer, Matt Cannon, is a member of that group, which serves to advise Maine’s Department of Transportation (DOT) on where to site offshore wind development infrastructure, specifically in Searsport. This is the beginning of the group’s work and the public process around this development. Please stay involved in the public process by checking out this website and signing up for email updates.
Green Tip of the Month: Where to Buy Native Plants
By the Wild Seed Project
Looking for native plants to spruce up your garden or outdoor space? Check out Wild Seed Project’s directory of native plant nurseries and tips for buying high quality, ethically sourced native plants.
The native plant movement is gaining traction in much of the U.S.—and that is fantastic! It can still be difficult, though, to source local native plants and seeds; so to help, Wild Seed Project has carefully curated a directory of where to buy northeastern native plants by state, including:
Nurseries that specialize in or include a wide selection of native plants
Native plant sales hosted by nonprofits and co-ops annually or seasonally
While they include the highest quality plant nurseries in this directory, it is still important that you do your own research to find out what native plants are in stock, if the plants are grown from seed, and if the nurseries use organic growing practices.
Do you have a green tip that you would like to have included in a future newsletter? Please share it with us here!
The Month Ahead
Here are some of the meetings and events we have coming up. We hope to see you soon!
Led by a Sierra Club Maine Outings Leader, these walks are typically 2-4 miles and about 1.5 hours on established trails or walkways. Check out Sierra Club Maine’s new Hiking Meetup Group for more information.
Learn how you can protect Maine's woods, water, and wildlife.
Donate Your Old Car, Boat, Motorcycle, or RV
Looking to upgrade your car, boat, truck, motorcycle, or RV? Consider donating your old one to Sierra Club Maine and give yourself a tax break! Your old vehicle, boat, or RV can have a big impact. In fact, the money we receive from it goes directly to protecting Maine’s air, water, lands, and wildlife. Donating is easy. Simply call 855-337-4377 or fill out an online donation form here and someone will come pick it up for you for free - that’s it! Make sure to designate your donation to “Sierra Club Maine.”
