Maine Const. art. 9, § 25 — Maine Constitution / Article 9 / Section 25
Apportionment of county commissioner districts. County commissioner districts must be apportioned as follows.
Status: in_force

Section 25. Apportionment of county commissioner districts. County commissioner districts must be apportioned as follows.

1. Redistricting, generally. Beginning in 2021 and every 10 years thereafter, the 
apportionment commission established under Article IV, Part Third, Section 1-A shall 
review the existing county commissioner districts and, as necessary, reapportion those 
districts in each county to establish as nearly as practicable equally populated districts. The 
Speaker of the House of Representatives is responsible for calling the commission together 
to review the county commissioner districts. No action may be taken by the commission 
without a quorum of 7. 
A. The apportionment commission shall divide the number of commissioners in 
each county into the number of inhabitants of the county, excluding foreigners not 
naturalized, according to the latest Federal Decennial Census or a state census 
previously ordered by the Legislature to coincide with the Federal Decennial 
Census, to determine a mean population figure for each county commissioner 
district. Each county commissioner district must be formed of contiguous and 
compact territory and must cross political subdivision lines the least number of 
times necessary to establish as nearly as practicable equally populated districts. 
Whenever the population of a municipality entitles it to more than one district, all 
whole districts must be drawn within the municipal boundaries. Any population 
remainder within the municipality must be included in a district drawn to cross the 
municipal boundary as long as the population remainder within the municipality is 
contiguous to another municipality or municipalities included in the district. Any 
county that already meets the standards and guidelines for equally populated 
districts, as established by this section, this Constitution and the Constitution of the 
United States, need not be reapportioned. 

B. Interested parties from each county may submit redistricting plans for the commission to consider. Those plans must be submitted to the commission no later than 30 calendar days after the commission is called together by the Speaker of the House of Representatives under this subsection. The commission may hold public hearings on plans affecting each county.

C. The commission shall submit its plan to the Clerk of the House of Representatives no later than June 1st of the year in which apportionment is required. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall submit to the Legislature, no later than January 15, 2022, and every 10th year thereafter, one legislative document to reapportion the county commissioner districts based on the plan submitted by the apportionment commission. The Legislature must enact the submitted plan or a plan of its own in regular or special session by a vote of 2/3 of the members of each House within 30 calendar days after the plan is submitted to it by the Clerk of the House of Representatives. This action is subject to the Governor's approval, as provided in Article IV, Part Third, Section 2.

2. Supreme Judicial Court. If the Legislature fails to make an apportionment within the 30 calendar days, the Supreme Judicial Court shall make the apportionment within 60 calendar days following the period in which the Legislature is required to act but fails to do so. In making the apportionment, the Supreme Judicial Court shall consider plans and briefs filed by the public with the court during the first 30 days of the period in which the court is required to apportion.