Maine Direct Initiative and People's Veto, Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 2 (1980)
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The Maine Direct initiative and People's Veto Referendum, also known as Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 2, was on the November 4, 1980 ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.[1] The measure allowed that referendum votes would be held at the next statewide election, rather than the next general election. If there was no such vote between 60 days and 6 months of the governor's proclamation of the referendum, the governor could order a special election. The measure also required that initiative petitions submitted to the second regular session of the legislature be filed on or before the 25th day of the session. Prior to this, the deadline was the 50th day of the session. It also stipulated that if an initiated bill was not enacted by the legislature, it would be voted upon by the people at an election in November of the year the petition was filed. Prior to this measure, such bills were voted upon at special elections declared by the governor or at the next general election. It also changed the referendum process name to "the people's veto" and the name of the initiative process to "direct initiative." This amended Sections 17, 18, 20 and 21 of Article IV, Part Third of the Maine Constitution.[2][3]
Background
According to the attorney general's explanatory statement, the intent of this measure was to reduce the number of elections as well as the costs of holding so many elections.[2]
Election results
| Maine Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 2 (1980) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 364,629 | 79.14% | ||
| No | 96,099 | 20.86% | ||
Election results via: Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library, Proposed Constitutional Amendments 1820-
Text of measure
- See also: Maine Constitution, Article IV, Part Third, Sections 17, 18, 20 and 21
The language appeared on the ballot as:[3]
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"Shall the Constitution of Maine be amended to change the referendum provisions so that the direct initiative and people's veto elections can be held at the same time as a scheduled statewide election?" [4] |
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Constitutional changes
The full text of the constitutional changes made by this measure can be read here.
See also
- Maine 1980 ballot measures
- 1980 ballot measures
- List of Maine ballot measures
- History of Initiative & Referendum in Maine
External links
- The Lewiston Journal, "State of Maine General Election November 4, 1980: Important Notice to All Voters of the State of Maine," October 28, 1980
- Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library, Proposed Constitutional Amendments 1820-
Footnotes
- ↑ Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library, "Proposed Constitutional Amendments 1820-," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Lewiston Journal, "State of Maine General Election November 4, 1980: Important Notice to All Voters of the State of Maine," October 28, 1980
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Constitutional Resolution of the State of Maine As Passed at the Second Regular Session of the One Hundred and Ninth Legislature, "Chapter 3," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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