Article By David Lindfield
Democrat-aligned Somali “translators” were recorded apparently coaching elderly Somali immigrant voters inside Maine voting booths, according to reports.
The effort was exposed by Maine Wire, prompting local officials to spell out rules prohibiting translators from directing ballot choices.
Maine Wire’s Jon Fetherston reported seeing women approach voters, accompany them into booths, and point out names on their ballots.
Such conduct goes beyond translation if intended to tell voters which candidates to select.
The controversy centers on a fundamental election safeguard: assistance must help voters cast their own ballots, without turning translators into political operatives directing their votes.
Clerk Issues Warning About Translator Rules
Fetherston’s report on X prompted Lewiston’s clerk to issue guidance explaining how voters can legally obtain translation assistance.
Voters must request that assistance themselves.
Translators cannot approach people to ask whether they need help or remain in the voting area waiting for more voters to arrive.
The clerk also emphasized that translators cannot select candidates for voters or handle their ballots.
They must read the complete ballot choices aloud, rather than selectively reading candidate names or pointing to particular selections.
Those restrictions directly address the behavior Fetherston described.
A translator’s role is to communicate the ballot’s contents, not steer someone’s vote.
Only one translator is permitted inside a booth with a voter.
Fetherston’s photographs appeared to show two translators accompanying one elderly voter.
WATCH:
Here’s the full story on the Somali translator who was asked to leave the voting area for electioneering, as confirmed by the Lewiston clerk: https://t.co/s4mLWue4cV
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 22, 2026
Poll Workers Order Translator to Leave
Poll workers ultimately told one of the women to leave, according to the report.
The woman insisted that she intended to stay and help Somali voters complete their ballots.
Maine Wire’s account raises a concrete allegation of ballot coaching.
Individuals presented as translators were approaching voters and pointing out candidates inside booths intended to protect private, independent choices.
If they were directing those choices, rather than translating them, they were violating the election rules outlined by the clerk.
WATCH:
The Soros-funded Maine People’s Alliance and State Rep. Scott Harriman appear to have violated Maine election law today by holding a political demonstration INSIDE the early voting chamber: https://t.co/qDZeTD0cke
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 22, 2026
Democrat Lawmaker Holds Demonstration Outside Voting Room
In a separate incident, Maine Wire reported that state Rep. Scott Harriman (D-ME) held a political demonstration inside an early voting location, immediately outside the room where voters were filling out ballots.
The event was reportedly organized by the extremist left-wing Maine People’s Alliance, identified in the report as a Soros-funded organization.
Maine election law prohibits electioneering within 250 feet of a polling place.
Yet Maine Wire reported that Harriman’s demonstration took place just outside the voting room, only feet from voting machines and directly along the path voters used to enter and exit.
Holding a political event at the voting room’s door puts partisan activity precisely where electioneering restrictions are designed to keep it away.
Together, the incidents expose why polling-place safeguards matter: translators must not direct ballot selections, and political activists must respect the boundaries protecting voters from campaigning where they cast their votes.
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