An Act To Amend Certain Laws Governing Elections
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §128, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 453, §20, is further amended to read:
(1) A published obituary may be used if it contains the name of the registered voter along with the date and place of death of that voter.
(2) A notice from an immediate family member of the registered voter may be used if it contains the name of the voter along with the date and place of death of that voter and is signed by the immediate family member. The Secretary of State shall design a form to be used for this purpose;
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §363, first ¶, as amended by PL 1993, c. 447, §3, is further amended to read:
The meeting of a political committee as required by sections 371, 373, 374-A, 381, 382 and 393 is governed by the following provisions.
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §365, first ¶, as amended by PL 2003, c. 510, Pt. A, §13, is further amended to read:
The political committee that has jurisdiction over the choice of a candidate for nomination or a nominee to fill a vacancy under sections 371, 373, 374-A, 381 and 382 is as follows.
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §372, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, §6, is repealed.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §373, as amended by PL 2001, c. 310, §23, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §374-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 447, §12, is further amended to read:
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §503-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 64, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §711, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 455, §39, is further amended to read:
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §712, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §25, is repealed.
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §760-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §38, is further amended to read:
Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §901, first ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §57, is further amended to read:
To initiate proceedings for a people's veto referendum or the direct initiative of legislation, provided in the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Sections 17 and 18, a voter shall submit a written application to the Department of the Secretary of State on a form designed by the Secretary of State. The application must contain the names, residence addresses , e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and signatures of 5 voters, in addition to the applicant, who are designated to receive any notices in proceedings under this chapter. The Secretary of State shall provide such notices by e-mail only. For a direct initiative, the application must contain the full text of the proposed law and a summary that explains the purpose and intent of the direct initiative in both electronic and printed formats. The voter submitting the application shall sign the application in the presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State's designee or a notary public.
SUMMARY
The bill makes the following changes to the election laws.
1. It provides 2 additional methods of notice of deceased voters that election officials can use to maintain their voter files.
2. It lowers the age of qualification to be an election official from 17 years of age to 16 years of age to correspond to a recent change in law that allows for the conditional registration of 16-year-olds.
3. It shortens the time that municipalities have to submit their official election returns to the Secretary of State from 3 business days to 2 business days after the election, and it moves the provision for sending a courier to retrieve delinquent returns to the same section of law as the filing requirement.
4. It adds a requirement that a clerk must post a copy of the notice of early processing of absentee ballots along with the notice of election.
5. It specifies additional information that must be provided on an application for a citizen's initiative or people's veto referendum and provides that notices must be provided to the applicants and other voters who are designated to receive notices by e-mail only.
6. It changes the withdrawal provisions for United States Senator, Representative to Congress and Governor to match those of other offices.