There are four constitutional amendments on Maine’s Nov. 7 ballot, running the gamut from a key part of Maine’s tribal-rights push to lesser-known elements of petition law.
Here’s what you need to know.
Question 6: Restoring omitted pieces of Constitution
The question: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State?
What your vote does: A yes vote would restore parts of the Maine Constitution that were taken out of printed copies as part of changes that took effect in 1876, including treaty obligations to tribes. A no vote would continue to leave them out. They are still in legal force.
Key context: This came out of a larger sovereignty push from Maine tribes, with one proponent saying it would “un-erase” part of the state’s history. It is unknown why lawmakers in the Reconstruction era decided to take treaty obligations out of print. They were extracted alongside antiquated items in changes aimed at increasing readability of the document.
Our coverage: Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, vociferously opposed this change in a letter to lawmakers from her chief lawyer earlier this year, while tribes rallied at the State House on Monday to back it.
Question 8: Voting rights for those under guardianship
The question: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?
What your vote does: A yes vote permits Mainers under guardianship for mental illness to vote. A no vote continues a prohibition on voting that has not been enforced since a 2001 court ruling found it unconstitutional, making this largely a housekeeping measure.
Key context: Maine has been wrestling with this issue for decades. Originally, the state Constitution barred “paupers and persons under guardianship” from voting. In 1965, it was amended to just apply to those under guardianship for mental illness.
In 1997 and 2000, Maine voters were asked to strike that provision. Each time, they refused. Finally, a judge effectively did it for them by ruling that the prohibition violated the 14th Amendment and “singled out, for no legitimate basis, people with psychiatrically based diagnoses.” This year, lawmakers sent another bid to change the law to voters.
Our coverage: The Maine Monitor has a good rundown of the changes here. Matt Gagnon, the CEO of the conservative Maine Policy Institute, wrote a BDN column against the change that argues for a narrower solution. The head of Disability Rights Maine retorted by saying the change is “long overdue.”
Questions 5 and 7: Changing petition laws
Question 5 text: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the time period for judicial review of the validity of written petitions from within 100 days from the date of filing to within 100 business days from the date of filing of a written petition in the office of the Secretary of State, with an exception for petitions filed within 30 calendar days before or after a general election?
Question 7 text: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision requiring a circulator of a citizen’s initiative or people’s veto petition to be a resident of Maine and a registered voter in Maine, requirements that have been ruled unconstitutional in federal court?
What your vote does: A yes vote enacts these changes to laws governing how candidates and questions get on the ballot by petition. A no vote rejects them.
Key context: These two items were supported by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office and apply to an arcane but important part of the state’s election system.
Question 5 is a response to workload in the secretary of state’s office, giving them more time to review signatures for Maine referendums. It came after a busy winter in 2022 in which workers had to verify 159,000 signatures while making election preparations, running recounts and doing ranked-choice tallies. Now, they have only 30 days to verify signatures.
Question 7 looks to align the state with a federal court ruling in 2022 that struck down as unconstitutional Maine’s requirement that signature gatherers trying to get items on the ballot must be Maine residents and voters.
