An Act To Implement Fusion Voting in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1033
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: PINGREE, DAMON, KOFFMAN, PATRICK, PELLETIER-SIMPSON, PIOTTI, SAMPSON, SCHATZ, GAGNON
Amends: 21-A MRSA §144, 21-A MRSA §334, 21-A MRSA §355, 21-A MRSA §601, 21-A MRSA §696

Legislative Document 
No. 1033 
H.P.718 
House of Representatives, March 1,2005 
An Act To Implement Fusion Voting in Maine 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative PINGREE of North Haven. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAMON of Hancock and 
Ii/~ 
/17. 7!/dC~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, PATRICK of Rumford, PELLETIER-SIMPSON 
of Auburn, PIOTTI of Unity, SAMPSON of Auburn, SCHATZ of Blue Hill, Senator: 
GAGNON of Kennebec. 
Printt.:d on rel:)'ded puper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §144, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, 
§16, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Restrictions during change of enrol.l.ment. 
Except as 
provided in subsection 4, 
a voter may not vote at a 
caucus, 
convention or primary election for 
days 
after filing 
an 
application 
to 
change 
enrollment. 
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Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §144, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, 
§6, is amended to read: 
4. 
Change of residence. 
When a voter changes Ris residence 
from one municipal i ty to another and establishes a 
new voting 
residence there, -6e- the voter may enroll in any party and vote 
at a caucus, convention or primary election, 
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as-~~i~~-~F-RemiRa~ieR-~~~~~~-e*ee~ieBT regardless of 
sis the voter's previous enrollment. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §334, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, §2L 
is further amended to read: 
§334. 
Qualification of candidate for primary nomination 
A candidate for nomination by primary election must file 
i:I 
pr imary petition and consent under sections 335 and 336. 
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candidate for nomination by primary election need not be enrolled 
in the party named in the petition. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §355, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1999, c. 645, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Qualifications decl.ared. 
The consent must contain a 
declaration of the candidate's place of residence 
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and 
that 
the 
candidate 
meets 
the 
qualifications of the office the candidate seeks. 
The candidate 
must verify by oath or affirmation before a notary public or 
other 
person 
authorized 
by 
law 
to 
administer 
oaths 
or 
affirmations that the declaration is true. 
If, pursuant to the 
challenge procedures in section 356, any part of the declaration 
is found to be false by the Secretary of State, the consent and 
the nomination petition are void. 
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Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ~B, as amended by PL 200L c. 
310, §29, is further amended to read: 
B. 
The ballot must contain the name, without any title, and 
place 
of 
residence 
of 
each 
candidate, 
arranged 
alphabetically with the last name first, under the proper 
office designation. 
The initial letters of the last names 
of the candidates must 
be printed directly beneath each 
other in a vertical line. The names of candidates for any 
one office may 
not 
be split into more 
than one 
column 
regardless of number. 
'IRe For the primary election ballotI 
the name of each candidate may be printed on the ballot ill 
only one space. 
For the general election ballot, -~Re-f>'Hty 
e~-~~~~~~-~&~~a&i&~-ef-~-eaaaiea~e-~~~-~-r~iBtea 
witR-eaeR-€aBaiaate~s-Bame the name of a candidate nominated 
by more 
than one party or political designation must be 
printed once for each party or political designation. 
The 
party or political designation may be abbreviated. 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 310, 
§41, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Determination of choice possible. 
If a voter marks the 
voter's ballot in a manner that differs from the instructions at 
the top of the ballot but in such a manner that it is possible to 
determine the voter's choice, then the vote for the office or 
question concerned must be counted. 
A mark made on or in the 
voting indicator that differs from the instructions at the top of 
the ballot but that clearly indicates the voter's choice is not a 
distinguishing mark. 
If a voter marks the same name for the 
same office multiple times with different party or political 
designation labels, the voter's vote must be counted as if the 
voter cast one vote for the candidate selected on a ballot space 
without a party or political designation label. 
This 
practice 
nominating 
requiring 
candidate 
SUMMARY 
bill 
authorizes 
cross-endorsement, 
which 
is 
the 
of 
multiple 
parties 
or 
political 
designations 
the same candidate. 
It eliminates the current rules 
enrollment in 
a 
political party in order to 
be 
a 
for that party's nomination. 
It also requires 
the 
Secretary of State to list on the ballot a candidate nominated by 
multiple parties or pOlitical designations once for each party or 
political designation. 
The bill would also prevent overvotes, 
when a voter marks the same candidate's name multiple times, from 
invalidating the vote.