Maine Initiative and Referendum Amendment (1908)

Maine Initiative and Referendum Amendment
Election date September 15, 1908
Topic Initiative and referendum process
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Maine Initiative and Referendum Amendment was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Maine on September 15, 1908. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported establishing an initiative and referendum process in Maine.

A "no" vote opposed establishing an initiative and referendum process in Maine.

Election results

Maine Initiative and Referendum Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		53,785	68.67%
No		24,543	31.33%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

The constitutional amendment provided for an indirect initiated state statute and veto referendum, and allowed for municipal initiatives and referendums, subject to local voter approval. The language required 12,000 signatures for initiated statutes and 10,000 for a veto referendum.

According to the Initiative and Referendum Institute, Roland T. Patten, editor of the Skowhegan Somerset Reporter, played a central role in promoting the initiative and referendum in Maine. He founded the Initiative and Referendum League of Maine. The Maine Federation of Labor, Maine State Grange, and Maine Civic League also advocated for the amendment. Gov. William T. Cobb (R) endorsed the idea in his inaugural address before the legislation in 1907. The state's four largest political parties—Republican, Democratic, Socialist, and Prohibition—supported the initiative and referendum in 1908.

Rod Farmer, a social science professor at the University of Maine, said "the newspapers, with the exception of the Waterville Morning Sentinel, were generally hostile" to the initiative and referendum proposal

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Initiative and Referendum Amendment was as follows:

“

Shall the constitution be amended as proposed by a resolution of the legislature providing for the establishment of a people's veto through the optional referendum and a direct initiative by petition and at general or special elections?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Arguments

• State Rep. Charles F. Johnson (D): "I believe the people of Maine can be trusted. I believe that Lincoln was right when he said that the great heart of the people beats true and that it can be trusted upon measures of public importance."

Opposition

Arguments

• The Bangor Daily News: "This measure is a direct blow to a representative form of government, and has a tendency to lessen the responsibility of representatives of the people, and places in the hands of agitators and cranks a weapon which, from the experience of the few States which have adopted it, has not only caused much needless agitation, but a great financial burden on the taxpayers."

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Maine Constitution

The Maine State Legislature voted to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The Senate passed the amendment on March 15, 1907. The House of Representatives passed the amendment on March 21, 1907.

See also

1908 Measures

• 1908 Measures
• Initiative and referendum process on the ballot
• 1908 legislative sessions

Maine

• Maine ballot measures
• Maine ballot measure laws

News and analysis

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

External links

• Constitutional Provisions for Maine's Citizen Initiative and People's Veto