An Act To Amend the Election Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1889
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: FISHER, RICHARDSON, TARDY
Amends: 21-A MRSA §153-A, 21-A MRSA §156, 21-A MRSA §157, 21-A MRSA §505, 21-A MRSA §606, 21-A MRSA §682, 21-A MRSA §696, 21-A MRSA §698, 21-A MRSA §753-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1889 
H.P.1329 
House of Representatives, January 3, 2006 
An Act To Amend the Election Laws 
(EMERGENCY) 
Submitted by the Secretary of State pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Legal and Veterans Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative FISHER of Brewer. 
77/~/J7·m~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representati ves: PATRICK of Rumford, Speaker RICHARDSON of 
Brunswick, TARDY of Newport. 
Printed on recydw puper 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 2l-A governs the 
conduct of statewide elections in the State, and changes to that 
law must be in place by the June 13, 2006 primary election in 
order for the Secretary of State to properly administer these 
laws and for the municipal election officials to properly conduct 
the election; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency wi thin the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 21·A MRSA §I, sub·§21, as amended by PL 2005, c. 364, 
§l, is further amended to read: 
21. 
Incoming voting list. 
"Incoming voting list" means the 
list of all of the voters in a municipality that is used by 
election officials at a voting place to record which voters have 
been issued a ballot at an election. 
The list must include the 
following information for each voter and may not include any 
other information: 
name; residence address; enrollment status; 
electoral district; 
voter 
status, 
active 
or 
inactive; 
voter 
record 
number; 
designations 
regarding 
challenged ballots 
and 
absentee 
ballots; 
and 
any 
special 
designations 
indicating 
uniformed service voters, overseas voters or township voters. The 
portion 
of 
the 
incoming 
voting 
list 
relating 
to 
Address 
Confidentiality Program participants must be kept under seal and 
excluded from public inspection. 
The residence address for any 
voter 
whose 
address 
has 
been 
made 
confidential 
pursuant 
to 
section 22, subsection 3, paragraph B may not be printed on the 
incoming voting list. and the words "address is confidential" 
must be printed on the list instead. 
Sec. 2. 21·A MRSA §22. sub-§3. as amended by PL 2005, c. 36.4, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Confidential information. 
Notwithstanding subsection 1 
and Title 1, section 408, if a registered voter is--€!oe-r'-t.-4-f-ied--ay 
tRe-~~~~~~~-S~a~e-~-a-~~~-paF~i~ipa&~-JR-~~-AeeFess 
beRfieeRtialitY-~~~-F~Fs~aRt--t.~-*itle-~--seetieR-~,-al1 
FeeeFes-maiBtaiBee-ey-~~~~~~~-~-t.~~~~~-~Ra&-Ve&eF-m~st 
Be-k~-~~~~~~-ma&t-Be-~~~~~~~-pab~i~-iRsFeetieH 
Page l-LR2978(1) 
-
m.eets certain conditions, the voter's information must be kept 
confidential as provided in this subsection. 
A. 
For a voter who is certified by the Secretary of State 
as 
a 
program. participant in the Address Confidentiality 
Program pursuant to Title 
5, 
section 90-B, 
all 
records 
maintained by the registrar pertaining to that voter must be 
kept 
confidential 
and 
must 
be 
excluded 
from 
public 
inspection. 
B. 
For 
a 
voter 
who 
submits to the registrar a 
signed 
statement that the voter has a good reason to believe that 
the physical safety of the voter or a member of the voter's 
immediate 
family 
residing 
with 
the 
voter 
would 
be 
jeopardized if the voter's address 
were 
open to public 
inspection, 
that voter's residence 
and mailing addresses 
must be kept confidential and must be excluded from public 
inspection. 
The 
remainder 
of 
the 
information 
in 
that 
voter's record that is designated as public information in 
section 
remains 
a 
public 
record 
and 
may 
be 
made 
available 
to 
the 
public 
according 
to 
the 
use 
and 
distribution requirements 
provided in that section. 
The 
voter's signed statement is also a public record. 
Sec. 3. 21·A MRSA §lOl, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 
1999, c. 426, §3, is amended to read: 
2. 
Appointment. 
The 
municipal 
officers 
of 
each 
municipali ty shall appoint in writing a qualified registrar of 
voters by January 1st of each odd-numbered year. 
The registrar 
shall serve for 2 years and until a successor is appointed and 
sworn. 
The 
municipal 
clerk 
may 
be 
appointed 
to 
serve 
as 
registrar, but the term of the clerk has no effect on the term of 
the 
registrar. 
~he clerk is not 
appointed to 
serve 
as 
registrar, the clerk must be appointed by the registrar to serve 
as a deputy registrar and has the same authority as the registrar 
to make determinations of voter eligibility and to perform the 
duties of voter registration as provided in this Title. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §l02, first 1[, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, 
§3, is further amended to read: 
The registrar may appoint one or more deputies, except that 
if the registrar does not also serve as the clerk, the registrar 
shall appoint the clerk to serve as a deputy registrar. 
I~-~he 
Fe~is~FaF-~-~8availaBle-~~--a-~~~-eHeeeai8~-~~-e98see~~ive 
aaysT-~he-~~~~~-~~~-a~~ia&-a-ae~~~y-~~~~~-~~a~&-Be 
availaBle--~9--~eF~9Fm--~he--a~~ies--e~--~he--Fe~is~FaFT---I~--~he 
Fe~is~FaF-a8a-~he-~£~~~~~~-~~~~-~~-m&~e-tha8 
19-€e8se€~~4ve-Q~y~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~¥e-a~-Fe~istFaF 
~Fe-~emT 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §l02, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, 
§6, is amended to read: 
2. 
Term of office. 
We--sball--&eFve A deJmty 
registr:.a~ 
serves at the will of the registrar, except that if the clerk is 
a deputy registrar and the registrar 1eayes office, the clerk 
becomes the registrar pro tern until a new registrar is appointed 
and sworn, at which point the clerk must be appointed as a deputy 
to the new registrar. 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §153-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 
196, §3, is amended to read: 
4.6 
3. 
Signing petitions. 
Once 
an alternative registration 
signature statement is on file with the registrar, the voter may 
authorize 
any other Maine-registered voter to sign candidate 
petitions and any Maine Clean Election Act forms requiring a 
voter's signature in the presence and at the direction of the 
voter, except that the individual assisting the voter may not be 
a candidate, the circulator of the petition or form, the voter's 
employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of 
the voter's union. 
In addition to using the voter's signature 
stamp or signing for the voter, 
the individual assisting the 
voter must print and sign the individual's own name and residence 
address on the petition or form and attest that the individual is 
signing on the voter's behalf. 
This method of signing satisfies 
the 
requirements 
in this Title that voters 
personally 
sign 
candidate petitions. 
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §156. sub-§l. as amended by PL 2005, c. 453, 
§31, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Registration and enrollment. 
A township resident who 
lives in a township for which the county commissioners have not 
established 
a 
voting place 
as 
provided 
in 
section 
may 
register and enroll in any municipality within the applicant's 
representative district or, if the applicant lives in a portion 
of a township not easily accessible to a municipality within the 
representative district, the township resident may register and 
enroll in a more convenient municipality within or outside the 
county. 
The 
township 
resident 
may 
register 
and 
enroll 
on 
election day. The registrar shall 
designate the applicant as a 
township 
voter 
with 
the 
letter 
"T" 
in 
the 
central 
voter 
registration system and on the incoming voting list. 
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §157, as amended by PL 1997, c. 436, §37, 
is repealed, 
Sec. 9. 21-A MRS A §172, as amended by PL 2005, c, 364, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
.. 
-
SI72. Voter registration file 
The registrar shall prepare and keep a voter registration 
file containing the voter registration documents for each voter 
in the central voter registration system, arranged alphabetically 
by the last name of each voter, except that any voter certified 
by the Secretary of State as a program participant in the Address 
Confidentiality Program pursuant to Title 5, section 90-8 must be 
listed on voter registration documents only by the voter code 
assigned to that voter under the program and these documents must 
be placed at the end of the alphabetized voter file. 
The file 
must contain an original, signed voter registration application 
for each voter, with associated applications containing changes 
of name, address or enrollment and any documentation concerning 
these 
applications 
or 
the 
qualifications 
for 
these 
voters. 
Information in the file pertaining to any voter certified by the 
Secretary of State as 
a 
program participant in the 
Address 
Confidentiality Program must be kept under seal and excluded from 
public inspection. 
When a voter's registration is cancelled from 
the 
central 
voter 
registration 
system, 
the 
registrar 
shall 
indicate on the voter's registration documents the date that the 
voter's registration was cancelled and retain the documents for § 
yeaFs the time period specified in section 23, either in the same 
file, or in a separate file. 
The registrar must retain the 
voter 
registration 
documents 
for 
each 
rejected 
voter 
in 
a 
separate file for the time period specified in section 23. 
Sec. 10. 21·A MRSA §196, sub.§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
Disclosure of address. 
A voter's address 
that is 
excluded 
from 
public 
inspection 
pursuant 
to 
section 
22, 
subsection 3, paragraph 8 may be made available free of charge to 
a law enforcement officer or agency that makes a written request 
to use the information for a bona fide law enforcement purpose or 
to a person identified by a court order if directed by that order. 
Sec. 11. 21·A MRSA §322. sub·§2, as amended by PL 2005, c. 
387, §s, is further amended to read: 
2. 
State committee to report organization. 
The chair and 
the 
secretary of 
the 
state 
committee 
shall certify to 
the 
Secretary of State t:ae--p-1-a-t=-f<H'm·--aOOpt.-ed--aIlEl the names of the 
party's candidates for presidential elector within 30 days after 
the convention. 
The chair anEl or the secretary of the state 
committee shall eeFt:ify-te provide upon request by the Secretary 
of State the name an elL residence and contact information of the 
chair 
and 
secretary of 
eaea 
~uy committee 
and 
of 
eaea 
any 
committee member wit:ain-6G-aays-afteF-taeiF-e~~etiell. 
Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §505, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
415, §3 and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
7. 
Report to the Secretary of State. 
Report the return of 
votes cast and other voter registration or election information 
to the Secretary of State upon request or as otherwise required 
by this Title. 
The 
cler~ shall notify the Secretary of State of 
the name of the clerk and any deputy or assistant clerks within 
days after th~ficial is elected or appointed and swo~ 
revising the election official's information listing within the 
central voter registration system; 
Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §606, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5. 
Rt!l!roducing official ballots. 
It is unlawful for any 
person to copy or reproduce an unmarked official ballot without 
the express authorization of the Secretary of State. 
Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §682, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by 
PL 2003, c. 447, §22, is amended to read: 
2. 
Influence prohibited. 
Wit:RiB--6~Q On 
...P_~~J.i~ __ QXQP~rty 
within 100 feet of the entrance to the voting place as well as 
within the voting place itself, a person may not: 
A. 
Influence 
another 
person's 
decision 
regarding 
a 
candidate or aa~~et:-iss~e question that is on the ballot for 
the election that day; or 
B. 
Attempt to influence another person's decision regarding 
a candidate or aalle~-i66~e question 
~hat is on the ballQt 
for the election that day. 
These limitations do not prohibit a candidate from attending the 
voting place and orally communicating with voters as long as the 
candidate does not attempt to influence their vote. 
A candidate 
may not state the name of the office sought or request a person's 
vote. 
Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §682. sub-§3. as repealed and replaced by 
PL 2003, c. 447, §22, is amended to read: 
3. 
Advertising prohibited. 
A 
person 
may 
not 
display 
advertising material; operate an advertising medium, including a 
sound amplification device; or distribute campaign literature, 
posters, palm cards, buttons, badges or stickers containing a 
candidate'S name or otherwise intending to influence the op1n1on 
of any voter regarding a candidate or question that is on 'the 
ballot for the election that day on any public property located 
within 69Q 1QQ feet of the entrance to either the voting place or 
.. 
• 
.. 
the ~ndin~n whll..!L~ registrar's office is located. 
The 
term "sound amplification device" includes, but is not limited 
to, sound trucks, loudspeakers and blowhorns. 
A. 
This subsection does not apply to advertising material 
on automobiles traveling to and from the voting place. 
It 
does not prohibit a person from passing out stickers at the 
voting place 
to 
be 
pasted on 
the ballot at 
a 
primary 
election. 
It does not prohibit a person who is at the polls 
solely for the purpose of voting from wearing a campaign 
button when the longest dimension of the button does not 
exceed 3 inches. 
B. 
Nonpolitical 
charitable 
activities 
and 
other 
nonpolitical advertising may be allowed at the discretion of 
the clerk if arrangements are made prior to election day. 
If arrangements are not made in advance of the election day, 
the warden may, at the warden's discretion, either allow or 
prohibit 
nonpolitical 
charitable 
activities 
and 
other 
nonpolitical advertising. 
Sec. 16. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§2, ,D, as amended by PL 2005, c. 
:10 
404, §3, is further amended to read: 
D. 
If 
a 
voter 
writes 
in 
a 
name 
and municipality 
of 
residence, or pastes a sticker containing the candidate's 
name 
and municipality of residence in the write-in space 
pursuant to section 691, 
but does not mark the write-in 
indicator, that vote for that office may not be counted if-a 
seEeFmiaaEiea-ef-eBeiee-~aseF-s~9seeEiea-4-is-Fessi9±e. 
Sec. 17. 21-A MRSA §698. sub-§2-A, ,A, as amended by PL 1995, 
c. 459, §66, is further amended to read: 
A. 
Transfer 
and 
resealing 
of 
the 
ballots 
to 
other 
containers for permanent storage must be done eG--o-r---meFe 
says not less than 2 months following the election. 
The 
municipal clerk shall make the transfer in the presence of 
one or more witnesses. 
The 
containers must be securely 
sealed. 
Sec. 18. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§6, ,B, as amended by PL 2003, 
c. 407, §24, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
B. 
The 
clerk 
creates 
the list of 
absentee 
voters 
as 
required in paragraph A by marking the records of registereq 
voters in the central voter registration system. 
The clerk 
must sign and date each official printed copy of the list of 
absentee 
voters 
that is 
created 
for 
public 
inspection 1 
certifying that the list is a true and accurate list of: 
absentee voters for the applicable election. 
No additional 
certification is required by the registrar of voters. 
Sec. 19. 21·A MRSA §753·B, sub·§8, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 
645, §6, is amended to read: 
8. 
Absentee voting in presence of clerk. 
A person who 
wishes to vote by absentee ballot may, 
without completing an 
application, 
vote by absentee ballot in the presence of the 
clerk. 
The method of voting is otherwise as prescribed in this 
article. 
After the person has voted, the clerk shall sign the 
affidavit on the return envelope as a witness, indicate on the 
envelope that the voter voted in the presence of a clerk and 
ensure that the affidavit on the return envelope is properly 
completed by the voter. 
For the 45 days preceding an election, 
during the hours when the clerk's office is open and may be 
conducting absentee voting, the display or distribution of any 
advertising material intended to influence 
a voter's decision 
regarding a candidate or Ba~~e~-iss~e question on the ballot for 
that election is prohibited wi thin the clerk's off ice and on 
public property within 
feet of the entrance to the 
building in which the clerk's office is located. 
This subsection does not apply to the display or distribution of 
any campaign advertising material on private property that is 
within 69G 100 feet of the entrance to the building in which the 
clerk's office is located. 
This subsection does not apply to campaign advertising material 
on automobiles traveling to and from the municipal office or 
parked on municipal property while the occupants are visiting the 
municipal office to conduct municipal business. 
It does not 
prohibit a person who is at the municipal office for the purpose 
of conducting municipal business or for absentee voting from 
wearing 
a 
campaign button when 
the longest dimension of 
the 
button does not exceed 3 inches. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
restores 
the 
voter 
address 
conf identi ali ty 
provisions and requirements for counting valid write-in votes 
that were eliminated during the First Regular Session of the 
122nd Legislature. 
This bill grants authority for the municipal 
clerk to 
conduct the duties of the registrar of voters 
and 
removes a redundant provision about the certification of the list 
of absentee voters. 
The bill also prohibits a candidate from 
.. 
• 
.. 
assisting voters who are unable to sign their own names with 
signing candidate peti tions or Maine Clean Election .Act forms. 
This bill clarifies that township voters may choose the most 
convenient municipality in which to register to vote only if the 
county commissioners have not provided for a voting place either 
in the township or in another municipality. 
This bill removes an 
inconsistent provision for the retention of voter registration 
documents and makes a technical change to the ballot retention 
period. 
This 
bill 
also 
changes 
certain 
requirements 
for 
reporting 
to 
the 
Secretary of 
State 
by qualified political 
parties 
and 
the municipal 
clerks. 
This bill prohibits 
the 
unauthorized reproduction of unmarked official ballots. 
The bill 
makes changes to the zones in which political activities are 
restricted, both for election day and for absentee voting.