Daily Kennebec journal., 1917-12-28
Referendum Petitions Fail

'i'Sdte itok 'SlSne0 Dy the officer
lihseif in his own hand is not GER
Hcate' 1T is the signature which au-
Hentleates it and gives its official char
c'ef: fhIs ssettied by law, r. s. ch. !,
&c b, para. Xxx; Chapman y Inhabi-
ants OF Limerick, 56 Maine $50; Opin
'a'' justices Is Maine 5S1; Bass V. Du-
ma ia Maine 30; Opin of Justices ia
Maine 514"
Question II and answef thereto az
'apbear III the opinion of the Justices,
i14'- Maine page 513, is as follows:
tan names be counted as petitioners
ehat are certified as being upon the
fotHls list by clerk or stenographer
u TIE town or city clerk, who il; not
-oep'ity' signing the city clerks name
with her initials under the same but
NOT verified within the ninety davs. Nv
the city or town clerk
answer. No answer in the negative.
pftcial signatures required bv Law
Llhsl pc made by the officer himself
Inc slgning of the town clerks name
d! lhe hand of another is not official"
4Vo pettlons bearing 120 names hot n
OIL which were signed by the town clerk
OF Rumford upon the typewriter arc
excluded under this ruling by Cover
nor Milliken
question Is submitted to the Justices
IN 49, and their answer thereto is as
follows:
IN certain cases signatures are sub
Scflped upon petitions OF each and all
u, the lines in the two columns mum.
''eFeG to i00. hG. signatures on two Of
ne regular printed lines numerically
oeS@nated. are crossed out with ink
"pd TWO names are signed after the
SIGNATURE on line No. 100 in the second
column. without numerical desiena
| tlon The city clerk certifie, thai the
names of the foregoing petitioners
numbered from 10 l0o, excepting none.
appear on the voting list. etc. The
name OF the verifying petitioner does
not appear on any of the lines in either
colufmi numbered l to 100, no: is his
name one Of the two added at the foot
pt the second column without numer-
zeal designation. but the name of tho
verifying petitioner is written into said
Fetltion at the foot Of the first column
below lines number 90 and has no
numerical designation. Is the name of
the verifying petitioner within the GER
tiflcate of the clerk and should the
names on such petition be counted?
| Answer. We answer in the mega
tive. In order TO make the certificates
more exact the petitioners are given
numerical designations, although il is
not required by the constitutions On
this petition there are one hundred
names opposite the figures from l to
loU inclusive. two other names without
number are added to the second col
umn and one without number TO The
first. making 103 names in all Two are
erased leaving 101. The clerk certifies
to these names which bear designating
numbers Sfrom / to 100, inclusive, and
he certifies to only one hundred
names in all. The name of the pc
tittoner who attempts to verify is be
low the last number on the first col
umn. 1t has no number Of its own and
is not within the total We do not
think his name has been certified l,y
the clerk as appearing on the voting
list and therefore be is not competent
to verify the petition. The names on
these petitions should not be counted -
One petition bearing 1e1 names is
disalloWed by Governor Milliken be-
cause of the circumstances recited in
the question and answer quoted
In answer to question three the Jus
|! tees say
"It takes more than a signature to
constitute a petitioner The person
whose signature it is must have the
right to sign and to have his name
counted as one of the ten thousand
electors necessary to suspend the
operation of statute. 1t must be the
signature Of a person who has a right
to act as 2 petitioner in that particular
proceeding and on that particular pc
! tition.
IF non -cOuntable signature does
not represent a constitutional petition :
er then it follows that such q person
| cannot verify q petition. One must be
| legal petitioner before he can be a
| verifying petitioner. If the first fails,
the last fails also
1T is the person to whom the name
belongs who makes the vertication and
takes the OATH
Under this ruling by the justices
Governor Milliken disallows petitions
verified by men who We're not voters of
|. Lewiston. They carry a total of 405
names.
An interesting feature in this con-
nectfon Is brought to light in connec-
tion with the petition from Lewiston
purporting to be verified by Paul Ro-
, bcrge. but it appears the name of Paul
ltoberee was not on the voting list of
Lewiston as being entitled to vote for
Governor. He therefore, did not have
| the right to sign as an elector and was
not legal petitioner. and so could not
verify the petition There was. how
ever. an elector in Lewiston by the
name of Louis Paul Robergc who an
peared at the hearing and testified that
he signed the petition asking for a
! referendum on the Lewiston Police
Commission bill which was verified on
June 8 by Divide Maltais, but he did
| not sign the name of Paul Robergc on
the petition purportiuG to be signed
and verified by Paul Roberge on June
12th. Governor Milliken points out
, that if Louis Paul Roberge and 1'aul
ltoberge are one and the same person
that persons right to petition was ex-
hausted when Louis Paul Roberre
signed the petition verified on June 9.
and that person could not be a legal
petitioner on the June 12 petition.
! In answer to Question s. the justices
in their opinion of 1917 said in mart.