Maine Question 2, Allow for Alternative Initiative Signatures for Persons with Disabilities Amendment (2019)

Maine Question 2
Election date November 5, 2019
Topic Direct democracy measures
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Maine measuresMaine Question 1Maine Question 2Submit

Maine Question 2, the Allow for Alternative Initiative Signatures for Persons with Disabilities Amendment, was on the ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2019. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to authorize legislation allowing for persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from signing their own names to use an alternative signature to sign petitions for citizen-initiated ballot measures.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment, thus keeping the requirement that persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from signing their own names to use their original signature to sign petitions for citizen-initiated ballot measures.

Election results

Maine Question 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		141,162	75.50%
No		45,799	24.50%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

As of 2019, the Maine State Constitution required people to sign petitions for citizen-initiated ballot measures with their original signature. The state constitution did not have a similar requirement for candidate petitions.

In 2005, the Maine State Legislature passed a law allowing persons with physical disabilities to register to vote and sign candidate petitions using an alternative signature, defined as a signature stamp or having a registered voter sign the petition on the person's behalf. Melissa Packard, the state director of elections, said, "it was determined that a constitutional amendment would be needed to authorize a similar process for direct initiative and people's veto petitions."

Question 2 authorized the state legislature to pass a law allowing persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from signing their own names to use an alternative signature, rather than an original signature.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to allow persons with disabilities to sign petitions in an alternative manner as authorized by the Legislature?

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IV--Part Third, Maine Constitution

The measure amended Section 20 of Article IV—Part Third of the Maine Constitution. The following underlined text was added:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

As used in any of the 3 preceding sections or in this section the words "electors" and "people" mean the electors of the State qualified to vote for Governor; "recess of the Legislature" means the adjournment without day of a session of the Legislature; "statewide election" means any election held throughout the State on a particular day; "measure" means an Act, bill, resolve or resolution proposed by the people, or 2 or more such, or part or parts of such, as the case may be; "circulator" means a person who solicits signatures for written petitions, and who must be a resident of this State and whose name must appear on the voting list of the city, town or plantation of the circulator's residence as qualified to vote for Governor; "written petition" means one or more petitions written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, with the original signatures of the petitioners, or, as authorized by law, the alternative signatures of persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from signing their own names, attached, verified as to the authenticity of the signatures by the oath of the circulator that all of the signatures to the petition were made in the presence of the circulator and that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and accompanied by the certificate of the official authorized by law to maintain the voting list or to certify signatures on petitions for voters on the voting list of the city, town or plantation in which the petitioners reside that their names appear on the voting list of the city, town or plantation of the official as qualified to vote for Governor. The oath of the circulator must be sworn to in the presence of a person authorized by law to administer oaths. Written petitions for a people's veto pursuant to Article IV, Part Third, Section 17 must be submitted to the appropriate officials of cities, towns or plantations, or state election officials as authorized by law, for determination of whether the petitioners are qualified voters by the hour of 5:00 p.m., on the 5th day before the petition must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, or, if such 5th day is a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, by 5:00 p.m., on the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday. Written petitions for a direct initiative pursuant to Article IV, Part Third, Section 18 must be submitted to the appropriate officials of cities, towns or plantations, or state election officials as authorized by law, for determination of whether the petitioners are qualified voters by the hour of 5:00 p.m., on the 10th day before the petition must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, or, if such 10th day is a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, by 5:00 p.m., on the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday. Such officials must complete the certification of only those petitions submitted by these deadlines and must return them to the circulators or their agents within 2 days for a petition for a people's veto and within 5 days for a petition for a direct initiative, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, of the date on which such petitions were submitted to them. Signatures on petitions not submitted to the appropriate local or state officials by these deadlines may not be certified. The petition shall set forth the full text of the measure requested or proposed. Petition forms shall be furnished or approved by the Secretary of State upon written application signed and notarized and submitted to the office of the Secretary of State by a resident of this State whose name must appear on the voting list of the city, town or plantation of that resident as qualified to vote for Governor. The full text of a measure submitted to a vote of the people under the provisions of the Constitution need not be printed on the official ballots, but, until otherwise provided by the Legislature, the Secretary of State shall prepare the ballots in such form as to present the question or questions concisely and intelligibly.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2019

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 17, and the FRE is 19. The word count for the ballot title is 25, and the estimated reading time is 6 seconds.

Sponsors

The following state legislators sponsored the constitutional amendment:

• Rep. Bruce White (D-109)
• Rep. Josanne Dolloff (R-115)
• Rep. Michelle Dunphy (D-122)
• Rep. Craig Hickman (D-81)
• Rep. John Martin (D-151)
• Rep. Scott Strom (R-106)
• Sen. Scott Cyrway (R-16)
• Sen. William Diamond (D-26)
• Sen. Erin Herbig (D-11)
• Sen. Louis Luchini (D-7)

Arguments

• Rep. Bruce White (D-109), the lead legislative sponsor of the constitutional amendment, said, "This legislation addresses a constitutional contradiction in that historic work that prevents people with some disabilities from participating in the process of petitioning their government, as the Constitution requires that signatures for initiatives and people's vetoes must be original signatures, made by the voter themselves. This is an obvious problem for people who, for example, are quadriplegic, or have Parkinson's, or have no hands at all. This proposal would give the Legislature room to make allowance for alternatives to original signatures on citizen initiatives and people's vetoes, such as proxies and self-inking stampers, for example, as are allowed for in other sections of the law."

Campaign finance

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Maine ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not identify ballot question committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.

Media editorials

See also: 2019 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the ballot measure. If you are aware of a media editorial board position that is not listed below, please email the editorial link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

• Portland Press Herald: "He’s right — Question 2 solves a small problem, but an important one. Everyone should have full access to the democratic process, and any undue barrier to any voter is an affront to a free and fair electoral system. ... And in the upcoming election, Mainers should vote “yes” on Question 2 — and help the state get a step closer in making sure everyone is able to fully participate in our democracy."

Opposition

Ballotpedia had not identified media editorial boards in opposition to the ballot measure.

Background

Use of alternative signatures in Maine

In 2005, the Maine State Legislature passed Legislative Document 623 (LD 623), titled "An Act To Ensure Participation by Voters with Disabilities in the Electoral Process," which Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed on May 20, 2005.

LD 623 allowed persons who were unable to sign their names due to physical disabilities to use an alternative signature, defined as a signature stamp or allowing another person to sign on their behalf, for voter registration, candidate petitions, and Maine Clean Election Act (MCEA) forms.

Referred amendments on the ballot

See also: List of Maine ballot measures

The following statistics are based on constitutional amendments between 1995 and 2018 in Maine:

• Ballots featured 15 constitutional amendments.
• An average of one constitutional amendment appeared on odd-year statewide ballots.
• The number of ballot measures on odd-year statewide ballots ranged from zero to three.
• Voters approved 73 percent (11 of 15) and rejected 27 percent (4 of 15) of the constitutional amendments.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2018
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Odd-year average	Odd-year median	Odd-year minimum	Odd-year maximum
15	11	73.3%	4	26.7%	0.8	1.0	0	3

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Maine Constitution

In Maine, a two-thirds vote is required in one legislative session of the Maine State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on 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.

The constitutional amendment was introduced as Legislative Document 1437 (LD 1437). On June 3, 2019, the state House approved LD 1437. On June 18, 2019, the state Senate approved LD 1437. There were no roll calls available for the legislation.

See also

2019 measures

• 2019 ballot measures
• Direct democracy measures on the ballot

Maine

• Maine ballot measures
• Maine ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maine

Poll times

In Maine, municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Maine, one must be "a United States citizen, at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote, and have established a fixed principal home in Maine. To vote in a Referendum or General Election, you must be registered in the community where you reside, and be at least 18 years of age. A 17 year old may vote in a Primary Election, if that person will be 18 by the General Election."

Voters can return completed registration cards in person or by mail to their town office or city hall, any Motor Vehicle branch office, most state & federal social service agencies, or a voter registration drive. There is no deadline for voter registration if completed in person. If registering by mail or online, the deadline is 21 days prior to the election. If registering through a qualified state agency, the deadlines is seven days prior to the election.

When registering for the first time in Maine, voters must provide documents verifying their identity and residence. The following documents are acceptable identification for the purpose of registering to vote:

• Government ID with a photo (i.e. driver’s license, State ID, valid U.S. Passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe)
• Government ID without photo (i.e. certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card)
• Other official document showing the name and address of voter (i.e. eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck)
• Student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine
• Maine driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number

Automatic registration

On June 19, 2019, Gov. Janet Mills signed an automatic voter registration bill into law that was scheduled for implementation in 2022. The law registers voters through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Maine has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Governor Janet T. Mills (D) signed L.D. 1126 into law on July 9, 2021, allowing online voter registration in Maine. This legislation went into effect on November 1, 2023.

Same-day registration

Maine allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Maine, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Maine does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Maine voter information lookup service allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Maine does not require voters to present identification while voting. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, he or she must provide identification and proof of residence.

External links

Amendment

• Maine Legislative Document 1437 (2019)