politics

Michael Parker has been on a voter registration drive for three years.

The magic number is 150, the number of registered voters required to petition the state for departmental rule changes. Up until this year, interest has been sparse.

Wednesday that changed, when about 200 inmates at the Maine State Prison registered to vote. Many of them had not been registered before. The Warren prison holds just under 1,000 inmates.

Maine is one of two states that allows the incarcerated to vote, along with Vermont.

About 200 Maine State Prison inmates registered to vote Wednesday at a program organized by the Portland NAACP. Click here for more on the event.

The inmates stand out from other voters in that corrections reform is a top concern. Beyond that, their priorities are similar to most Americans. They care about health care, the Iraq War and the economy.

Charles Jones of Portland is serving a 70-year sentence for murder. He’s a former vice president of the prison’s NAACP branch. He follows politics closely, eyeing candidates who support rehabilitation programs as a means of reducing recidivism.

PolitickerME.com is looking for an intern this summer to help with our campaign coverage.

The ideal candidate will be a college student living in Maine with an interest in public affairs journalism and multimedia. Candidates must not be affiliated with any partisan political organizations.

U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud held a field hearing Monday in Sanford that examined the Department of Veterans Affairs programs on women, rural veterans and other special populations. At the hearing, Michaud, Allen and Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., examined the ways the VA can improve access to treatment for these populations.

This week in Maine politics:

PolitickerME.com will post a weekly list of events going on in Maine politics. If you would like your group’s events added, e-mail Jessica.alaimo@politickerme.com.

More information on the events can be found at the following Web sites:

I hate to be a bother, I really do. But could someone please tell me where my 20 million dollars has gone. I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

There’s competition for the Democratic nomination for three of Portland’s legislative seats.

Thursday evening candidates for House District 114, House District 120 and Senate District 8 gathered for a debate at King Middle School in Portland.

The discussions revealed few differences between the candidates. They all stressed the need for new voices in Augusta.

Peter CianchetteIf confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica, Peter Cianchette said he will focus on strengthening trade between the country and the United States, and work with local law enforcement to combat drugs being grown in the Latin American country.

Cianchette, Maine’s Republican National Committeeman, appeared before the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday for a confirmation hearing. President Bush tapped him for the post in February.