Westbrook, MAINE -- Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett today called on Republicans in the State House to stop standing in the way of legislation that would fix the clean elections system. 

Republicans, namely Representative Jeff Timberlake, have objected to the routine “errors and inconsistencies” bill moving forward. The legislation would fix an inadvertent drafting error that’s prohibiting the Maine Ethics Commission from disbursing funding to candidates through the clean elections system. Representative Timberlake is doing this despite the Executive Director of the Maine Ethics Commission calling the issue a “very serious problem in need of a legislative fix.”

“I would hate to think that there are Republican legislators who would attempt to undermine the clean elections system because they think it may benefit them,” said Phil Bartlett, Chairman of the Maine Democratic Party. “But right now there are Republicans in the State House who are standing in the way of this routine bill moving forward -- and it seems very much like they are attempting to put their thumbs on the scales of the election. But, thankfully, they can easily dispel those concerns by passing this bill, and I call on them to do so.”

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