The November 7 ballot includes four proposed amendments to the Maine Constitution. All four measures passed in the Legislature by a two-thirds margin, as required to get on the ballot. But they will not become law unless a majority of voters approve them in the November referendum election.
For the complete Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election, prepared by the Secretary of State’s Office, with full text of each proposed law, fiscal notes, Attorney General opinions and more, click here. For a briefer overview, read on.
Question 5
Text on the ballot: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the time period for judicial review of the validity of written petitions from within 100 days from the date of filing to within 100 business days from the date of filing of a written petition in the office of the Secretary of State, with an exception for petitions filed within 30 calendar days before or after a general election?
Background from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Maine: “This amendment would change the amount of time the Secretary of State’s office has to review petition signatures from 100 days to 100 business days. It would also make an exception for petitions filed within 30 days of a general election, starting the review period after that. The purpose of this amendment is to give the Secretary of State’s office more time to review petition signatures.”
“A YES vote means you support amending the constitution to change the amount of time to review petitions. A NO vote means you don’t want to change the amount of time.” — from The League of Women Voters of Maine Guide to the November ballot questions
Context from The Bangor Daily News: “These two items [Questions 5 and 7] were supported by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office and apply to an arcane but important part of the state’s election system.
“Question 5 is a response to workload in the secretary of state’s office, giving them more time to review signatures for Maine referendums. It came after a busy winter in 2022 in which workers had to verify 159,000 signatures while making election preparations, running recounts and doing ranked-choice tallies. Now, they have only 30 days to verify signatures.” — from The Bangor Daily News guide to the constitutional amendments on Maine’s ballot
The proposed law and the Legislature’s action: LD 1012 RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine Regarding the Timing of Judicial Review of the Determination of the Validity of Written Petitions.
Question 6
Text on the ballot: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State?
Background from the League of Women Voters: “Since 1875, three sections of Maine’s constitution have not been included when copies are printed. One of these sections refers to Maine’s tribal obligations. Do you want to amend the constitution so that these sections are included in print? This does not change the constitution, only which parts of it are printed.”
“A YES vote means you agree that we should print all the sections of the Maine State Constitution. A NO vote means that you support keeping these sections of the constitution out of print copies. The history of this issue isn’t clear, but most importantly, this would not change treaty obligations in any way; it only applies to whether they’re included in print.” — from The League of Women Voters of Maine Guide to the November ballot questions
Context from The Bangor Daily News: “This came out of a larger sovereignty push from Maine tribes, with one proponent saying it would “un-erase” part of the state’s history. It is unknown why lawmakers in the Reconstruction era decided to take treaty obligations out of print. They were extracted alongside antiquated items in changes aimed at increasing readability of the document.” — from The Bangor Daily News guide to the constitutional amendments on Maine’s ballot
The proposed law and the Legislature’s action: LD 78: RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Require All Provisions in the Constitution to Be Included in the Official Printing
Question 7
Text on the ballot: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision requiring a circulator of a citizen’s initiative or people’s veto petition to be a resident of Maine and a registered voter in Maine, requirements that have been ruled unconstitutional in federal court?
Background from the League of Women Voters: “Maine’s constitution currently says that people who are circulating petitions have to be Maine voters. This amendment would remove that requirement, so petition circulators would not have to be Maine voters. Federal courts have ruled that this requirement is unconstitutional in several states.”
“A YES vote means you want to amend the constitution so that people collecting petition signatures don’t have to be Maine residents. A NO vote means you don’t want to amend the constitution and prefer that only Maine residents can collect signatures.” — from The League of Women Voters of Maine Guide to the November ballot questions
Context from The Bangor Daily News: “Question 7 looks to align the state with a federal court ruling in 2022 that struck down as unconstitutional Maine’s requirement that signature gatherers trying to get items on the ballot must be Maine residents and voters.” — from The Bangor Daily News guide to the constitutional amendments on Maine’s ballot
The proposed law and the Legislature’s action: LD 1477: RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Align the Proceedings for Circulating Written Petitions for People’s Vetoes and Direct Initiatives with Federal Law.
Question 8
Text on the ballot: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?
Background from the League of Women Voters: “This would amend the Maine Constitution so that individuals under a guardianship for reasons of mental illness will be able to vote in elections for governor, senators, and representatives. A federal court has already ruled that this restriction violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”
“A YES vote means you want to amend the Maine constitution to get rid of the restriction on voting for people under guardianship for mental illness, which will bring Maine’s constitution into agreement with federal law. A NO vote means you don’t want to amend the Maine constitution to allow people under guardianship for mental illness to vote for governor, senators, and representatives.” — from The League of Women Voters of Maine Guide to the November ballot questions
Context from The Bangor Daily News: “A yes vote permits Mainers under guardianship for mental illness to vote. A no vote continues a prohibition on voting that has not been enforced since a 2001 court ruling found it unconstitutional, making this largely a housekeeping measure.”
“Maine has been wrestling with this issue for decades. Originally, the state Constitution barred ‘paupers and persons under guardianship’ from voting. In 1965, it was amended to just apply to those under guardianship for mental illness.”
“In 1997 and 2000, Maine voters were asked to strike that provision. Each time, they refused. Finally, a judge effectively did it for them by ruling that the prohibition violated the 14th Amendment and ‘singled out, for no legitimate basis, people with psychiatrically based diagnoses.’ This year, lawmakers sent another bid to change the law to voters.” — from The Bangor Daily News guide to the constitutional amendments on Maine’s ballot
The proposed law and the Legislature’s action: LD 1653: RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Allow Persons Under Guardianship for Mental Illness to Be Electors and to Protect All Electors from Harassment and Intimidation
— Find an overview of Questions 1-4 at this link.
— Find a sample New Gloucester ballot for the November 7 election at this link.
— Find ballot information in these languages: Arabic, French, Kinyarwanda, Portuguese, and Spanish, courtesy of the League of Women Voters of Maine.
NGX editors’ note on sources. The Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election from the Secretary of State’s Office is a comprehensive guide to the November 7 referendum questions. It is lengthy and detailed. Finding shorter yet accurate and informative overviews, with a minimum of spin, turns out to be a challenge, but that’s what we were aiming for here.
