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Maine Minimum Sentences for Sexual Assault Against Children Under Age 12 Initiative (2020)
| Maine Minimum Sentences for Sexual Assault Against Children Under Age 12 Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Maine Minimum Sentences for Sexual Assault Against Children Under Age 12 Initiative was not on the ballot in Maine as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
The ballot initiative would have created minimum required sentences for persons convicted of gross sexual assault against children under the age of 12. The minimum sentence for first-time convictions would have been a 25-year prison sentence and, after imprisonment, probation for life. The minimum sentence for second-time convictions, where the first conviction was gross sexual assault, gross sexual misconduct, or rape against a child under age 12, would have been a life sentence of imprisonment.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
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 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 63,067 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was February 3, 2020.
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
Joseph F. Lynch filed the ballot initiative, which was approved for signature gathering on June 27, 2019.[1] The deadline to file signatures for a ballot initiative was February 3, 2020. The office of Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap did not receive signatures for the proposal.
See also
Footnotes
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State of Maine Augusta (capital) |
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