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- Paul LePage said a proposed state bill would dilute the votes of "white people" and make it "the minorities that would elect."
- The former Maine governor has a history of racist remarks, once calling people of color "the enemy" in fighting drug addiction.
- The proposed bill would bring Maine into a compact that would bypass the electoral college system in favor of the popular vote for presidential elections.
Former Maine Governor Paul LePage criticized an election bill being considered in the state legislature, saying it would reduce the important of white people voting.
The proposed bill would bring Maine into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement between state legislatures that would bypass the electoral college system. If states representing a total of 270 electoral college votes joined the compact, all of their allocated votes would go to the winner of the country’s popular vote, making the popular vote winner president.
LePage told the radio station WVOM that the bill was "an insane process" and warned that "we’re gonna be forgotten people," according to the Maine Beacon.
"Actually what would happen if they do what they say they’re gonna do is white people will not have anything to say," he said. "It’s only going to be the minorities that would elect. It would be California, Texas, Florida."
LePage was Maine’s governor between 2011 and 2019 before hitting the state’s term limit and moving to Florida.
He has a history of bigoted policies and remarks. LePage campaigned against same-sex marriage and, as governor, challenged protections for LGBT workers. He’s also an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and also said that "the enemy" in fighting drug addiction "are people of color or people of Hispanic origin."
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Source: Business Insider – jshamsian@insider.com (Jacob Shamsian)