First, it is important to understand that most ballot measures in Maine are initiated by Legislators, not Citizens. There has been a great deal of exaggerated talk about Maine heading down the path of Oregon the state with the most citizen initiative bills. The facts simply don t support this argument. Over the past decade, Oregon voters have considered 74 citizen-initiated bills. During this same period, Maine voters considered 12.
Maine already has in place a significantly stricter citizen initiative process than Oregon.
Initiated bills in Oregon require only 6 percent of the votes cast for Governor, compared with Maine s 10 percent requirement. Additionally, in Oregon, there is no limit on the time allowed for signature gathering, whereas in Maine the circulation period is limited to one year. If the number of required signatures were increased, or if a geographic distribution requirement for signatures were enacted, or if signature gatherers were required to stand out in the rain on election day or to collect signatures on any day but election day, the result would be to make this process only available to those who can overcome these hurdles with money. Legislators, members of the public, business interests, even the Governor may dislike some of the measures that have made it onto the Maine ballot in recent years, but the response should not be to shut the process down. A healthy democracy must protect the citizen s right to self-government.