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Home → Elections & Voting → People’s Veto or Citizens’ Initiative Resources → Process For People’s Veto or Citizens’ Initiative

Process for People’s Veto or Citizens’ Initiative

People's Veto

Petition Procedures

Article IV, Part Third, Sections 17, 19, 20, and 22 of the Maine Constitution and Title 21-A, Chapter 11 address the procedures relative to a people's veto referendum.

Any Maine registered voter may circulate a people's veto referendum by following these steps:

  1. The voter must submit a written application to the Secretary of State. The completed application must contain the names, addresses and signatures of 5 Maine registered voters, in addition to the applicant, who are designated to receive any notices related to the processing of the application. The voter submitting the application must sign it in the presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State's designee or a notary public. The application must contain either the full text of or a reference to the public law to be vetoed.
  2. Within 10 business days after receiving the application, the Secretary of State must review the application and either reject it, or accept it, and provide the ballot question to the applicant.
  3. After the Secretary of State has provided the ballot question to the applicant, the Division of Elections will provide an approved petition form to be circulated by the petitioners. The proponents must print or duplicate additional petition forms as needed, in the exact format provided by the Secretary of State. The approved petition form must include the following specifications:

     
  4. Petitions may be circulated by any Maine registered voter.

Citizens' Initiative

Petition Procedures

Article IV, Part Third, Sections 18, 19, 20, and 22 of the Maine Constitution and Title 21-A, Chapter 11 address the procedures relative to initiative legislation.

Any Maine registered voter may circulate a citizen initiative by following these steps:

  1. The voter must submit a written application to the Secretary of State. The completed application must contain the names, addresses and signatures of 5 Maine registered voters, in addition to the applicant, who are designated to receive any notices related to the processing of the application. The voter submitting the application must sign it in the presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State's designee or a notary public. The application must contain the full text of the proposed law.
  2. Within 15 business days after receiving an application, the Secretary of State must review the application and either reject it, or accept it, and provide a revised draft of the initiative legislation to the applicant.
  3. If the applicant revises the legislation, the applicant must submit each subsequent draft of the legislation to the Secretary of State for review. Again, the Secretary of State must review each subsequent draft within 10 days of receipt, and provide a revised draft or written response suggesting how the proposed law may be modified to conform to the requirements of Title 21-A, Section 901, and the drafting conventions of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated.
  4. The applicant must provide the Secretary of State with written consent to the final language of the proposed law.
  5. After receiving written consent from the applicant, the Elections Division will provide an approved petition form to be circulated by the petitioners. The proponents must print or duplicate additional petition forms as needed, in the exact format provided by the Secretary of State. The approved petition form must include the following specifications:
  6. The date the approved form of the petition is provided to the applicant is the date of issuance. The petition may be circulated for 18 months from the date of issuance.
  7. Petitions may be circulated by any Maine registered voter.