Maine Question 1, 2015

Last updated
Question 1: Citizen Initiative
An Act To Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act, Improve Disclosure and Make Other Changes to the Campaign Finance Laws
Results
Votes %
Yes check.svgYes119,91254.94%
X mark.svgNo 98,34345.06%
Valid votes 218,25598.83%
Invalid or blank votes 2,5791.17%
Total votes220,834100.00%
Source: Office of the Secretary of State of Maine, Tabulation of Votes

Maine Question 1, "An Act To Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act, Improve Disclosure and Make Other Changes to the Campaign Finance Laws", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which appeared on the November 3, 2015 statewide ballot. As the Maine Legislature did not exercise its ability to pass the bill on its own, it was placed on the ballot and approved by Maine voters.

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.

Maine State of the United States of America

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.

Maine Legislature The bi-cameral Legislature of the State of Maine

The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Augusta, where it has met since 1832.

Contents

Background

The Maine Clean Elections Act was passed as a citizen-initiated referendum titled Question 3 in 1996, making Maine the first state to adopt a public campaign financing law. [1] It established a voluntary public campaign financing program for Maine gubernatorial and legislative elections, allowing candidates who demonstrated a certain level of community support through a limited number of 'seed money' contributions to qualify for public financing of their campaign. Candidates who accepted such financing could not subsequently accept any private contributions to their campaign. [2]

Initially, the Act also provided for publicly financed candidates to receive additional matching funds should privately financed candidates in their race outspend them. In 2011, the United States Supreme Court struck down a similar provision in Arizona as unconstitutional, [3] which led to a US District Court judge doing the same with Maine's provision later that year. [4] Due to those court rulings, the Maine Legislature removed the matching funds provision from the Act. [5]

Arizona state of the United States of America

Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western and the Mountain states. It is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona shares the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico; its other neighboring states are Nevada and California to the west and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.

The group Mainers for Accountable Elections turned in approximately 86,000 signatures to Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap on January 21, 2015. [6] Dunlap verified about 80,000 of them by February 18, 2015. That was about 16,000 more than required, which sent the question to the Legislature for consideration, though they did not do so and the question was sent to the ballot. [7]

Matthew Dunlap American politician

Matthew Dunlap is an American politician from Maine. A Democrat, Dunlap is the Secretary of State of Maine, serving since January 7, 2013, and previously served in that same post from 2005 to 2011. In 2012, he sought to become his party's nominee to replace retiring Olympia Snowe, but lost in the primary to State Senator Cynthia Dill. Prior to his first election as Secretary of State in 2005, he represented Old Town in the Maine House of Representatives for four terms beginning in 1996.

Republican State Senator Eric Brakey introduced a competing measure in the Legislature to ask voters to repeal the Act and redirect the intended funds to education costs. [8] His proposal was rejected in committee on May 6, 2015 by a 9-1 vote. [9]

Maine Republican Party

The Maine Republican Party is an affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine on August 7, 1854.

Eric Brakey actor and politician

Eric Brakey is an American politician from Maine.

The proposed changes to the Act include increasing the amount of money distributed to candidates, more disclosure requirements such as listing the top three donors that pay for political advertisements in the ad itself, and increased fines for violators. [10]

Campaign

Mainers for Accountable Elections launched its campaign on July 28, 2015, at a rally where Republican State Sen. Roger Katz spoke in support of the referendum. [11]

Until September 2015, there was no organized opposition to the referendum. [12] On September 23, it was reported a Facebook page was created called "No on Question 1". It was created in part by State Rep. Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) who appeared on WVOM radio to call the proposal "nothing but a scam" and "an assault on the Maine people who want a citizen legislator to represent them." [13]

Opponents of the Act as a whole include Governor of Maine Paul LePage who has attempted to remove funding for the Act from the state budget, calling it "welfare for politicians", without success [14] as well as the aforementioned Sen. Brakey's effort to seek repeal of the law. The conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center supported court rulings against the Act. [3] LePage has called Question 1 specifically a "scam" [15] and that public campaign financing was like "giving your wife your checkbook". [16]

On October 21, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce announced its opposition to the Question, due to disagreeing with its funding mechanism of eliminating corporate tax breaks. Chamber President Dana Connors stated that Maine's business incentive programs are modest and it would be difficult and harm the state's business climate to eliminate any of them. The opposition was notable it that it was not based on ideological opposition to public financing of campaigns as with other opponents. [17]

Notable supporters

Notable opponents

Results

Breakdown of voting by county
County Yes Votes No Votes
Androscoggin 49.55%9,40950.44%9,578
Aroostook 48.61%4,46951.38%4,724
Cumberland 63.88%36,29036.11%20,514
Franklin 48.08%2,03751.91%2,199
Hancock 57.82%6,42642.17%4,687
Kennebec 52.82%8,96747.17%8,007
Knox 59.49%4,26340.5%2,902
Lincoln 54.64%3,54945.35%2,946
Oxford 46.24%3,34153.75%3,883
Penobscot 46.9%10,20253.09%11,550
Piscataquis 40.1%1,11659.89%1,667
Sagadahoc 55.85%3,71344.14%2,934
Somerset 41.63%2,80958.36%3,937
Waldo 55.24%3,86844.75%3,134
Washington 43.24%2,03256.75%2,667
York 57.16%17,33342.83%12,988
Total54.94%119,91245.06%98,343

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References

  1. ↑ "Proposed cuts worry Maine Clean Election advocates". Portland Press Herald. January 16, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Maine Clean Election Act". Maine Ethics Commission. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Supreme Court ruling to affect Maine Clean Elections". Bangor Daily News. June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Matching funds portion of Clean Election Act in jeopardy". Bangor Daily News. November 29, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Maine Senate OKs Clean Election Act changes". Bangor Daily News. March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Maine Group Earns 85,000 Signatures For Clean Elections Initiative". WABI-TV. January 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/18/maine-secretary-of-state-oks-clean-election-signatures/
  8. ↑ "Bill to Repeal Maine's Clean Elections Law Comes Under Fire". MPBN. April 24, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.pressherald.com/2015/05/06/maine-panel-rejects-attempt-to-repeal-clean-election-law/
  10. ↑ "Campaign for Maine finance reform ballot question kicks off". Bangor Daily News. July 28, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Group rallies around ballot question to reform Maine campaign laws". Bangor Daily News. July 28, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  12. ↑ http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2015/09/17/will-question-1-cruise-to-election-day-without-opposition/
  13. ↑ "Question 1 opponent: Maine election reform bid 'nothing but a scam'". Bangor Daily News. September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  14. ↑ "LePage budget would gut clean election fund for 2014 campaign". Bangor Daily News. February 27, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "LePage calls Maine election reform effort 'a scam'". Bangor Daily News. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Gov. LePage says public campaign financing like "giving your wife your checkbook"". Maine Beacon. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposes Question 1". Bangor Daily News. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Maine has another chance for clean elections". Lewiston Sun Journal. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  19. ↑ http://www.accountableelections.org/senator-chris-johnson-restoring-government-by-of-and-for-the-people/
  20. 1 2 "George Mitchell, Angus King step into Question 1 debate with endorsement". Bangor Daily News. October 1, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Keeping Maine clean requires a yes vote in November". Kennebec Journal. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  22. ↑ http://www.accountableelections.org/aclu-endorsement/
  23. ↑ http://www.accountableelections.org/mecep-endorses-campaign-finance-referendum-2/
  24. ↑ http://www.accountableelections.org/sierra-club-maine-endorses-election-reform-referendum/
  25. ↑ http://www.accountableelections.org/environment-maine-endorses-election-reform-referendum/
  26. 1 2 "Question 1 is Maine's chance to keep politics the domain of everyday people". Bangor Daily News. October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Our Endorsement: Vote 'yes' on Question 1 for Clean Election reform". Portland Press Herald. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Ex-Maine Gov. John Baldacci opposes Question 1". Bangor Daily News. October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  29. 1 2 "More Clean Election money is wrong for Maine". Bangor Daily News. October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
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