The gist

This constitutional amendment would remove the requirement for people circulating petitions to be Maine residents who are registered to vote.

Ballot question

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?1

Yes means No means
I am in favor of removing the residency and registration requirements for petition circulators from the Maine Constitution. I don't want this change to the Maine Constitution.

Tell me more

Currently the Maine Constitution requires anyone collecting signatures for People’s Vetoe and Direct Initiative petitions to be a resident and registered voter in Maine. This resolution would remove the requirement and align Maine’s constitution with federal law.

Federal courts have already ruled that the residency requirement for petitioners is unconstitutional and can’t be enforced by the state of Maine.2

This question is a constitutional amendment, which, if passed, would make a change to the state constitution.

Follow the money

There’s no money directly involved with this referendum. 2

Pros

The primary arguments for this referendum are:

  • Aligns Maine’s constitution with federal court decisions regarding the First Amendment
  • Aligns Maine with the majority of other states with statewide initiative or veto referendum processes

Cons

The primary arguments against this referendum are:

  • It changes the Maine Constitution.

Who cares

Support 3

  • State Sen. Craig Hickman (D)
  • State Rep. David Boyer (R)
  • State Rep. Laura Supica (D)

Opposition

  • No campaigns found in opposition3
  • An argument against made by Garland, ME party co-chair, Linda Haskell (R)3

Further reading

Full text
Ballotpedia article
Portland Press Herald Article

References

  1. Maine State Legislature. 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. Accessed October 1, 2023. ↩

  2. Bellows, Shenna. Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election. Accessed October 1, 2023. ↩ ↩2

  3. Ballotpedia State Desk. Maine Question 7, Remove Residency Requirement for Initiative Petition Circulators Amendment (2023). Accessed September 23, 2023. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

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