Maine 2020 ballot measures
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Nov. 3 (in person); Oct. 19 (by mail)
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Oct. 5
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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Three statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Maine in 2020.
- Question 1 was defeated on March 3, 2020.
- The second election was on July 14, 2020, and featured two bond issues. Both of the bond issues were approved.
- The general election on November 3, 2020, featured zero statewide ballot measures.
On the ballot
- See also: 2020 ballot measures
March 3, 2020:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VR | Question 1 | Healthcare | Repeals the law eliminating religious and philosophical exemptions from vaccination requirements for students and healthcare employees |  |
July 14, 2020:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI | Question 1 | Bonds | Authorizes $15 million in bonds for high-speed internet infrastructure |  |
| BI | Question 2 | Bonds | Authorizes $105 million in bonds for transportation infrastructure projects | |
Signatures submitted but failed to make ballot
Campaigns for the following ballot measures filed signatures to appear on the ballot for November 3, 2020, but the measures were not added to the ballot due to insufficient signatures or court order.
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IndISS | NECEC Transmission Project Certificate Initiative | Energy | Require the Public Utilities Commission to revoke certification of the NECEC transmission project | 
|
| VR | Ranked-Choice Voting for Presidential Elections Referendum | Elections | Repeals a bill that adopted ranked-choice voting for presidential elections |
|
Summary of campaign contributions
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020
The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees received in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:
| Ballot Measure | Support Contributions | Oppose Contributions | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Question 1, High-Speed Internet Infrastructure Bond Issue (July 2020) | $112,226.62 | $0.00 |
|
| Maine Question 1, Religious and Philosophical Vaccination Exemptions Referendum (March 2020) | $671,085.04 | $872,619.14 |
|
| Maine Question 2, Transportation Infrastructure Bond Issue (July 2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
|
Getting measures on the ballot
Citizens
In Maine, citizens have the power to initiate state statutes and veto referendums, but not constitutional amendments. Initiatives are indirect in Maine, meaning that the state legislature has the option to approve an initiative without a vote of electors. Voters approved a constitutional amendment for initiative and referendum powers in 1908.
In 2020, 63,067 signatures were required for initiatives and veto referendums in Maine. The signature requirement was based on 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in 2018.
Signatures for initiatives that proponents intended to appear on the November 2020 general election ballot needed to be filed on or before February 3, 2020. The deadline for veto referendums was 90 days following the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the targeted bill was passed.
Legislature
The Maine State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments and state statutes, to the ballot. In Maine, the most common type of referred statute is the bond issue.
Maine is one of 16 states that requires a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the Maine House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Maine Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Statutes, including bond issues, require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session and the governor's signature to appear on the ballot. Section 14 of Article IX of the Maine Constitution requires that state bonds exceeding $2 million be referred to the ballot for voter approval.
Historical facts
- See also: List of Maine ballot measures
Between 1995 and 2018, the following occurred:
- Ballots featured 141 ballot measures.
- An average of five or six measures appeared on even-year statewide ballots in Maine.
- An average of one or two citizen-initiated statutes appeared on even-year statewide ballots in Maine.
- Voters approved 91 percent (145 of 159) and rejected 9 percent (14 of 159) of the ballot measures.
- Voters approved 40 percent (14 of 35) and rejected 60 percent (21 of 35) of the citizen-initiated statutes.
| Ballot measures in Maine, 1995-2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| All measures | 141 | 110 | 78.01% | 31 | 21.99% | 5.6 | 6.0 | 2 | 9 | |
| Initiated statutes | 40 | 18 | 45.00% | 22 | 55.00% | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Veto referendums | 7 | 6 | 85.71% | 1 | 14.29% | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Amendments | 15 | 11 | 73.33% | 4 | 26.67% | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Bond issues | 80 | 77 | 96.25% | 3 | 3.75% | 3.1 | 4.0 | 0 | 6 | |
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IndISS | Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative | Suffrage | Provides that only a person, rather than a person, who meets requirements, including citizenship, can vote | 
|
| IndISS | Medical Aid-in-Dying Initiative | Assisted Death | Legalizes assisted death for adult patients with terminal illnesses |
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| IndISS | Paid Sick Leave Initiative | Labor | Requires employers to provide employees with paid sick leave |
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| IndISS | Crime of Female Genital Mutilation Initiative | Law | Classifies female genital mutiliation as a crime in state code |
|
| IndISS | $200 Excise Tax on Motor Vehicles Initiative | Taxes | Replaces excise tax formula for motor vehicles with $200 tax |
|
| IndISS | Minimum Sentences for Sexual Assault Against Children Under Age 12 Initiative | Law | Establishes minimum sentences for persons convicted of sexual assault against a child under age 12 |
|
| LRCA | Equal Rights Regardless of Sex Amendment | Constitutional rights | Prohibits denial of rights on account of an individual's sex |
|
| LRCA | Constitutional Right to Food Amendment | Food | Provides that there is an "inherent and unalienable right to food" |
|
See also
External links
Footnotes
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