Maine Prohibit Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program Funds From Being Used For Other Purposes Amendment (2025)

Maine Prohibit Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program Funds From Being Used For Other Purposes Amendment
Election date November 4, 2025
Topic Paid sick leave laws and Revenue allocation
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The Maine Prohibit Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program Funds From Being Used For Other Purposes Amendment was not on the ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 4, 2025.

The amendment would have required that all state revenues relating to the paid family and medical leave benefits program, along with money donated or received that is designated to support the benefits program, be used solely for the administration and costs of the program.

Text of the measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title would have been as follows:

“

Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to provide that all revenues relating to a paid family and medical leave benefits program must be expended solely for the cost of program benefits and administration and may not be used for other purposes?

”

Full text

The full text of the constitutional amendment is available here.

Path to the ballot

Amending the Maine Constitution

See also: Amending the Maine Constitution

A two-thirds majority (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Maine State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the Maine House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Maine State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Legislative Document 1221

State Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R-27) introduced the constitutional amendment into the Maine State Legislature as LD 1221 on March 20, 2025. Below is a timeline of the amendment in the legislature:

• May 29, 2025: The Senate Labor and Housing Committee recommended the amendment be passed.
• June 2, 2025: The state House and Senate approved an altered version of the LD 1221. The altered version is not a constitutional amendment, and instead directs the Department of Labor to study methods of protecting paid family and medical leave benefits funds. As such, LD 1221 will not be on the 2025 ballot.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maine

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Maine.

How to vote in Maine

Poll times

In Maine, municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Maine, one must be "a United States citizen, at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote, and have established a fixed principal home in Maine. To vote in a Referendum or General Election, you must be registered in the community where you reside, and be at least 18 years of age. A 17 year old may vote in a Primary Election, if that person will be 18 by the General Election."

Voters can return completed registration cards in person or by mail to their town office or city hall, to any Motor Vehicle branch office, to most state & federal social service agencies, or at a voter registration drive. There is no deadline for voter registration if completed in person. If registering by mail or online, the deadline is 21 days prior to the election. If registering through a qualified state agency, the deadlines is seven days prior to the election.

When registering for the first time in Maine, voters must provide documents verifying their identity and residence. The following documents are acceptable identification for the purpose of registering to vote:

• Government ID with a photo (i.e. driver’s license, State ID, valid U.S. Passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe)
• Government ID without photo (i.e. certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card)
• Other official document showing the name and address of voter (i.e. eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck)
• Student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine
• Maine driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Maine automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Eligible voters may opt out of registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Maine has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

Maine allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Maine, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Maine does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have laws requiring individuals provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. Three states, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, require a person provide proof of citizenship if their citizenship status cannot be verified by other means. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Maine voter information lookup service allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Maine does not require voters to present identification while voting. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, they must provide identification and proof of residence.

The federal Help America Vote Act requires that individuals in all 50 states who register to vote by mail and who have not voted previously in a federal election in their state must provide either their driver's license or a paycheck, bank statement, current utility bill, or government document showing their name and address. Individuals voting by mail must include a copy of one of those documents with their absentee/mail-in ballot.

These requirements do not apply if an individual submitted a copy of their identification, their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote.

See also

2025 measures

• 2025 ballot measures
• Paid sick leave laws on the ballot
• Revenue allocation on the ballot

Maine

• Maine ballot measures
• Maine ballot measure laws

News and analysis

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

External links

• Maine Legislature - LD 1221

Footnotes

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