Maine Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative (2022)
| Maine Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Maine Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative was not on the ballot in Maine as an indirect initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.
The ballot initiative would have amended the state's voter qualification statute to state that a person must be a citizen to vote. As of 2021, the voter qualification statute said that "A person who meets the following requirements," including citizenship, "may vote in any election in a municipality." The ballot initiative would have stated that "Only a person who meets the following requirements may vote in any election in a municipality."[1]
As of 2021, the voter qualification statute listed the following requirements to vote: (a) citizen of the United States; (b) at least 18 years of age, except to vote in primaries held for a general election in which the citizen will be 18; (c) resident of voting jurisdiction; (d) registered to vote; and (e) enrolled in a party to vote in that party's primary, caucus, or convention.[2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Sponsors
The We the People PAC led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.[3] Rep. William Faulkingham (R-136) and Rep. Heidi Sampson (R-21) were chairpersons of the campaign.[4]
Supporters
- Liberty Initiative Fund[4]
Campaign finance
The We the People PAC was registered to support the ballot initiative. The PAC had raised $152,048, including $118,500 from the Liberty Initiative Fund.[4]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $151,981.00 | $67.00 | $152,048.00 | $100,055.44 | $100,122.44 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $151,981.00 | $67.00 | $152,048.00 | $100,055.44 | $100,122.44 |
Support
The contribution and expenditure totals for the committees supporting the ballot measure were as follows:[4]
| Committees in support of Maine Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative (2022) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| We the People PAC | $151,981.00 | $67.00 | $152,048.00 | $100,055.44 | $100,122.44 |
| Total | $151,981.00 | $67.00 | $152,048.00 | $100,055.44 | $100,122.44 |
Donors
The following were the top five donors to the support committees:[4]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Initiative Fund | $118,500.00 | $0.00 | $118,500.00 |
| Maine Republican Party Corporate Account | $7,350.00 | $0.00 | $7,350.00 |
| Dirigo PAC | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | $5,000.00 |
| Maine Civic Action | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 |
| Heidi Sampson | $1,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Mainers for Health and Parental Rights | $1,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,500.00 |
Background
Citizen requirement to vote constitutional amendments
Between 1962 and 2020, voters in five states considered constitutional amendments to provide that only citizens can vote. Each of the constitutional amendments was approved.
- Arizona Proposition 102 (1962)
- North Dakota Measure 2 (2018)
- Alabama Amendment 1 (2020)
- Colorado Amendment 76 (2020)
- Florida Amendment 1 (2020)
Path to the ballot
Process in Maine
In Maine, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 18 months, but signatures must be no more than one year old to be valid. Signatures must be filed with the secretary by the 50th day of the first regular legislative session or the 25th day of the second regular session. Maine's initiative process is indirect, which means sufficient initiative petitions first go to the legislature and only go to the ballot if the legislature rejects or does not act on the initiative.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 63,067 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was January 30, 2022.
Each petition signature is certified by the local registrar of voters. The signatures are then submitted to the secretary of state. If enough signatures are verified, the initiatives are sent to the legislature. If the legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. If the legislature does not act on the initiative or rejects it, the initiative goes on the ballot. The legislature may submit "any amended form, substitute, or recommendation" to the people alongside the initiative; this alternative is treated as a competing measure.
Stages of this initiative
Rep. William Faulkingham (R-136) filed the ballot initiative, which was approved for signature gathering on August 26, 2019.[5] On October 12, 2019, Faulkingham announced that the campaign was suspended due to lack of funds.[6][7] However, the campaign later relaunched with the intent of getting the proposal placed on a future ballot.
The deadline to file signatures with the secretary of state for the ballot initiative was February 26, 2021. Signatures needed to be submitted to local clerks by February 16, 2021.
As of February 17, 2021, Faulkingham said that the campaign had collected 88,000 signatures. The campaign used both in-state and out-of-state petition circulators to gather signatures. The campaign also filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the state's laws prohibiting out-of-state circulators.[8]
The campaign submitted some signatures to local clerks on the February 16 deadline and to the secretary of state on the February 26 deadline. According to a representative of the secretary of state, some signatures were not certified by local clerks and some were received by local clerks after the February 16 deadline, but the office had started the process of counting signatures as of March 1. According to Faulkingham, some clerk offices were closed on February 16 due to a storm, making it impossible to submit signatures. Faulkingham said he had filed a petition for relief regarding the February 16 signature deadline.[9][10]
On March 29, 2021, the Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) announced that the initiative did not qualify for the ballot. The campaign submitted 41,075 valid signatures, 21,992 less than the required number.[11]
We the People PAC v. Bellows
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Residency requirement; whether the state's requirement that petition circulators be registered voters and, therefore, residents violates the First Amendment | |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of Maine | |
| Ruling: Ruled in favor of plaintiffs, blocking the enforcement of Maine's voter registration and residency requirements for petition circulators | |
| Plaintiff(s): State Rep. William Faulkingham (R), We the People PAC, the Liberty Initiative Fund, and Nicholas Kowalski | Defendant(s): Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn |
| Plaintiff argument: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that "ballot access rules which reduce the pool of available circulators of initiative petitions is a severe impairment"; residency requirements significantly impede the ability of plaintiffs to qualify their measure for the ballot and prevent them from associating with a large portion of the available professional petition circulators; requiring out-of-state circulators to register with the state is sufficient to safeguard the integrity of the initiative process. | Defendant argument: Many other initiatives and veto referendums have been successfully qualified for the ballot while adhering to the state's circulator requirements, proving the requirements are not a severe burden; the state's circulator requirements have been upheld by state court rulings; the circulator requirements are necessary for the state's interests in protecting the integrity of the initiative process and "protecting the initiative’s grassroots nature." |
Source: United States District Court, District of Maine
Proponents of the initiative used professional out-of-state petition circulators along with volunteers and paid in-state petition circulators starting on Nov. 3 to collect signatures. Rep. Faulkingham, his political action committee We the People PAC, the Liberty Initiative Fund—which is providing funding for signature gathering—and Nicholas Kowalski—a petition circulator from Michigan—also filed a lawsuit on Dec. 30, 2020, seeking an injunction against provisions of the Maine Constitution and a 2015 law requiring petition circulators to be registered voters, and, therefore, state residents.[8]
The campaign reported gathering 38,000 signatures by Jan. 25, 2021, and said that 90% of the signatures were collected by the 49 out-of-state professional circulators. The remaining 10% were gathered by six in-state professional petition circulators, 24 volunteer circulators, and 42 paid in-state circulators. As of Feb. 17, Faulkingham said the campaign had gathered 88,000 signatures.[8][12]
On February 16, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock enjoined the state from enforcing provisions of the Maine Constitution and a 2015 law requiring petition circulators to be registered voters, and, therefore, state residents. Woodcock ruled that "the First Amendment’s free speech protections trump the state’s regulatory authority." Secretary of State Shenna Bellows could appeal the ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling also said, "The Court framed its opinion as a prelude to a challenge to the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for a more authoritative ruling." The ruling, provided it is not appealed or is upheld upon appeal, allows the initiative campaign to use the signatures collected by out-of-state circulators.[8][12]
The ruling was appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Arguments were heard on July 27, 2021.[13][14]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Maine Secretary of State, "An Act To Clarify the Eligibility of Voters," accessed September 3, 2019
- ↑ Maine State Legislature, "MRS Title 21-A §111.," accessed September 3, 2019
- ↑ Facebook, "We the People PAC," accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Maine Commission of Governmental Ethics & Election Practices, "Political Action Committees," accessed February 24, 2021
- ↑ Maine Secretary of State, "Citizens Initiatives & People's Veto," accessed September 3, 2019
- ↑ Bangor Daily News, "Maine conservatives suspend 2020 referendum drive to bar noncitizens from voting," October 16, 2019
- ↑ Facebook, "Maine Citizen Elections," October 12, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Bangor Daily News, "Federal judge puts key Maine referendum law on hold amid GOP lawsuit," February 17, 2021
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff writer Josh Altic, "Telephone correspondence with the office of the secretary of state," March 2, 2021
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff writer Josh Altic, "Telephone correspondence with Rep. William Faulkingham," March 2, 2021
- ↑ Central Maine, "Proposed ballot initiative to block non-citizens from voting falls short," March 29, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 U.S. District Court of Maine, "We The People PAC v. Bellows," February 16, 2021
- ↑ Ballot-access.org, "We the People PAC v. Bellows," accessed June 1, 2021
- ↑ Ballot-access.org, "We the People PAC v. Bellows," accessed July 3, 2022
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