Maine Judicial Term Limits (1976)

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The Maine Judicial Term Limits Referendum was on the November 2, 1976 ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure allowed justices whose terms of office had expired or who had reached the mandatory retirement age to hold office for up to six month longer or until a successor is appointed, whichever occurs first. This amended Section 4 of Article VI of the Maine Constitution.

Election results

Maine Judicial Term Limits Referendum (1976)
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		331,802	75.91%
No		105,278	24.09%

Election results via: Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library, Proposed Constitutional Amendments 1820-

Text of measure

See also: Maine Constitution, Article VI, Section 4

The language appeared on the ballot as:

“

"Shall the Constitution be amended as proposed by a resolution of the Legislature to allow judges whose terms of office expire or who reach mandatory retirement age to continue to hold office for up to 6 months until their successors are appointed?"

”

Constitutional changes

The following changes were made to Section 4 of Article VI of the Maine Constitution with the crossed out text being repealed and the underlined text being added:

Section 4. Tenure of judicial officers. All judicial officers shall hold their offices for the term of seven years from the time of the respective appointments (unless sooner removed by impeachment or by address of both branches of the Legislature to the executive, and provided further that justices of the peace may be removed from office in such a manner as the Legislature may provide) and no longer, unless reappointed thereto; provided, however, that a judicial officer whose term of office has expired or who has reached mandatory retirement age, as provided by statute, may continue to hold office until the expiration of an additional period not to exceed six months or until his successor is appointed, whichever occurs first in time.

See also

Suggest a link

• Maine 1976 ballot measures
• 1976 ballot measures
• List of Maine ballot measures
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Maine

External links

• Lewiston Daily Sun, "Specimen Ballot," October 28, 1975
• Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library, Proposed Constitutional Amendments 1820-
• National Conference of State Legislatures, State Ballot Measures Database