Maine 2016 ballot measures

2016 Maine Ballot Measures
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In 2016, six statewide ballot measures appeared on the ballot in Maine on November 8. Voters approved four initiatives and one bond issue and rejected one initiative.

HIGHLIGHTS

Five of the certified measures—Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, Question 4, and Question 5—were indirect initiated state statutes.

These five measures addressed various topics, including marijuana, the minimum wage, and firearms.

The other certified measure, Question 6, was a legislatively referred bond question.

Getting measures on the ballot

Maine allows citizen initiatives in the form of indirect initiated state statutes and veto referendums. The deadline for submitting signatures to qualify ballot initiatives for the election on November 6, 2018, in Maine was February 1, 2016. A certified measure is sent to the state Legislature, where officials have the option to approve the measure or take no action. Taking no action would allow the initiative to appear on the ballot for a popular vote. At least 61,123 signatures were required to get an initiative certified for the ballot in 2016. Signatures for veto referendums were due 90 days after the state Legislature's adjournment of the 2016 legislative session.

The state legislative session ran from January 6, 2016, through April 20, 2016, during which time the Maine State Legislature could have placed referred constitutional amendments and referred state statutes on the ballot. The state Legislature can put a proposed amendment or bond issue on the ballot upon a two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers. The measure must then be approved by a simple majority of voters.

On the ballot

See also: 2016 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
IndISS	Question 1	Marijuana	Legalize marijuana for personal use	a
IndISS	Question 2	Taxes	3 percent tax on household income over $200,000	a
IndISS	Question 3	Firearms	Background checks for gun sales and transfers	d
IndISS	Question 4	Min Wage	Increase minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020	a
IndISS	Question 5	Elections	Establish ranked-choice voting	a
BI	Question 6	Bonds	$100 million in bonds for transportation projects	a

Vote in Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties: The counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump from 2008-2016 and Pivot Counties in Maine

There were 206 counties in the nation that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Ballotpedia refers to these Obama-Obama-Trump counties as Pivot Counties. In Maine, 8 of 16 counties were Pivot Counties. Maine had the highest percentage of Pivot Counties in the U.S., which made up 50 percent of the state's total counties. The eight Pivot Counties represented 47.08 percent of the population of Maine in 2015. The state had seven counties that voted for the Democratic candidate for president in 2008, 2012, and 2016. Maine had one county, Piscataquis County, that voted for the Republican candidate for president in 2008, 2012, and 2016.

Voters in Maine also addressed six ballot measures, including five citizen initiatives and one bond issue, on November 8, 2016. In Maine, none of the vote outcomes in Democratic counties were less than the vote outcomes in the state's one Republican county. The vote outcomes in Maine's Pivot Counties often fell between Democratic and Republican counties, with some Pivot Counties overlapping with the other counties.

On Question 4, an initiative to increase the minimum wage, and Question 5, an initiative to establish ranked-choice voting, the average countywide vote in Pivot Counties was not more than 1 percent closer to either the average across Democratic or Republican counties.

On Question 1, which was designed to legalize marijuana, and Question 6, a measure to issue bonds for transportation projects, the average vote in Pivot Counties was closer to the vote in Republican Piscataquis County than the Democratic counties by 3 or 4 percent.

On Question 2, which was designed to enact a surcharge on household incomes over $200,000 to provide additional funding for public education, the average countywide vote in Pivot Counties was 3.8 percent closer to the average vote across Democratic counties than to the Republican county.

The greatest distance between the average vote across Pivot Counties and the average vote across other counties was for Question 3, which would have required background checks before a gun sale or transfer between people who are not licensed firearm dealers. The average across Pivot Counties was 8.91 percentage points more than in Piscataquis County and 14.88 percentage points less than across Democratic counties. The average outcome of Question 3 across Pivot Counties was 6 percent closer to the Republican county than the Democratic counties.

Votes on measures

The information below compares the average vote outcomes across Pivot Counties to average vote outcomes across Democratic and Republican counties and the statewide vote for each ballot measures. The following percents are averages across the types of counties (Pivot, Democratic, and Republican). See each individual ballot measure page to learn more about how Maine counties voted on a measure.

Question 1: Marijuana Legalization Initiative

Pivot Counties: 46.43 percent

Statewide vote: 50.26 percent (3.83 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 51.80 percent (5.36 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 44.26 percent (2.17 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 36.72 percent in Aroostook County to 50.46 percent in Franklin County

Question 2: Tax Surcharge on Household Incomes Exceeding $200,000 for Public Education

Pivot Counties: 48.72 percent

Statewide vote: 50.63 percent (1.91 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 51.42 percent (2.70 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 42.23 percent (6.49 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 46.04 percent in Somerset County to 51.55 percent in Aroostook County

Question 3: Background Checks for Firearm Sales and Transfers

Pivot Counties: 35.69 percent

Statewide vote: 48.20 percent (12.51 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 50.57 percent (14.88 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 26.78 percent (8.91 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 27.28 percent in Somerset County to 43.67 percent in Androscoggin County

Question 4: $12 Minimum Wage

Pivot Counties: 51.14 percent

Statewide vote: 55.50 percent (4.36 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 57.78 percent (6.64 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 45.00 percent (6.14 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 46.85 percent in Penobscot County to 54.13 percent in Washington County

Question 5: Ranked Choice Voting in Elections

Pivot Counties: 47.04 percent

Statewide vote: 52.12 percent (5.08 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 53.60 percent (6.56 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 45.00 percent (5.43 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 44.33 percent in Washington County to 50.32 percent in Kennebec County

Question 6: $100 Million in Bonds for Transportation Projects

Pivot Counties: 55.51 percent

Statewide vote: 61.22 percent (5.71 percentage points above Pivot Counties)

Democratic counties: 63.94 percent (8.43 percentage points above Pivots Counties)

Republican county: 51.06 percent (4.45 percentage points below Pivots Counties)

Range in Pivot Counties: 51.94 percent in Somerset County to 58.54 percent in Kennebec County

Cost per required signatures

See also: Ballot measure signature costs, 2016 and CPRS analysis

The cost of an initiative or veto referendum petition drive can be measured in two key ways:

1. According to the total cost of gathering the required signatures to put the initiative or veto referendum on the ballot
2. According to the total cost divided by the number of signatures required to qualify the measure for the ballot or Cost Per Required Signature (CPRS).

This data for Maine initiatives and information about what petition drive companies were used are below:

Ballot Measure:	Topic:	Petition company	Cost	Signatures	CPRS
Maine Question 5	Electoral systems	individuals	$49,577.35	61,123	$0.81
Maine Question 2	Taxes	FieldWorks, Maine People's Alliance, Olympic Consulting, and individuals	$479,956.80	61,123	$7.85
Maine Question 1	Marijuana	Olympic Consulting and FieldWorks	$343,875.16	61,123	$5.63
Averages:	N/A	FieldWorks	$338,086.94	N/A	$5.53

2017 legislative session

During the 2017 legislative session, the Maine State Legislature voted to amend or repeal three of the four ballot initiatives passed in 2016. Question 1, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, was amended to delay the licensing of retail marijuana facilities until February 2018. Question 2, which was designed to place an additional 3 percent surcharge on the portion of household incomes above $200,000 and earmark revenue for public education, was repealed as part of the budget deal struck between legislators and Gov. LePage. Question 4, an initiative to increase the minimum to $12 an hour, was amended to restore the state's tip credit that allowed employers to count 50 percent of employees' tips toward wages.

The one initiative that legislators failed, but attempted, to amend or repeal was Question 5. The measure made Maine the first state in the nation to pass a ranked-choice voting law. In April 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court advised the state Legislature that using ranked-choice voting for state offices at general elections would violate the Maine Constitution. Sen. Cathy Breen (D-25) introduced the constitutional amendment into the state Legislature to allow the state to use ranked-choice voting. On June 23, 2017, the state House 78 to 68, with five members absent, to approve the measure. As 101 members were needed to pass the measure, the enactment vote failed. Sen. Garrett Mason (R-22) introduced a bill to repeal Question 5. On June 27, 2017, the state Senate voted 21 to 13 to pass the repeal bill. The state House changed the language of the bill so that ranked-choice voting would go into effect for federal elections and state primaries. However, the state Senate rejected the House's version of the bill. On June 29, 2017, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (D) said his office would begin drafting the process of implementing ranked-choice voting.

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Maine and List of Maine ballot measures

• From 1996 to 2016, 122 measures have appeared on the ballot in Maine.
• Since 1996, an average of six measures have appeared annually on the ballot in Maine.
• Between 1996 and 2016, 94 of 122 Maine ballot measures (77 percent) were approved by voters.
• Conversely, 28 of 122 measures (23 percent) were defeated between 1996 and 2016.

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
IndICA	Income Tax Abolishment Amendment	Taxes	Eliminates the state income tax by 2020
IndISS	Public Funding of Religious Private Schools Initiative	Education	Repeals the requirement that a private school must not be religious to receive public funds to use for tuition purposes
IndISS	Casinos or Slot Machines in York County Initiative	Gambling	Allows the Maine Gambling Control Board to accept applications for a casino or slot machines in York County
IndISS	Wind Energy Act Repeal and Amendment	Energy	Changes the criteria for wind energy development, removes sections that set goals for wind energy development, and repeals sections that permit expedited allowance of grid-scale wind energy development
IndISS	Marijuana Legalization Initiative	Marijuana	Legalizes, regulates and taxes marijuana

State profile

Demographic data for Maine
	Maine	U.S.
Total population:	1,329,453	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	30,843	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	95%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.1%	12.6%
Asian:	1.1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	1.5%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91.6%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	29%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,331	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	16.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Maine. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Maine

Maine voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, eight are located in Maine, accounting for 3.88 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Maine had seven Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 4.42 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Maine coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Maine
• United States congressional delegations from Maine
• Public policy in Maine
• Endorsers in Maine
• Maine fact checks
• More...

External links

• Maine Secretary of State
• Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election

See also

• 2016 ballot measures
• List of Maine ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Maine
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Maine
• Campaign finance requirements for Maine ballot measures

Footnotes

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