MAINE: Gov Vows To Raise Voting Age In Retaliation For New Law Raising Legal Age To Buy Cigarettes

The Portland Press-Herald reports:

Gov. Paul LePage said today that he would propose increasing the age to vote or join the military to 21 to be consistent with a new law hiking the legal age to buy tobacco. Unfortunately for LePage, two things would stand in his way: the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. military.

Six days after the Legislature overrode his veto, LePage was still venting on the radio and in a letter to lawmakers about what he views as their hypocrisy in raising the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 as a way to reduce Maine’s high youth smoking rates.

While health groups cheered the new law, LePage called lawmakers “hypocrites” and repeated his suggestion that perhaps 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are also too young to cast ballots or choose to fight for the country.