An Act To Establish Open Ballot Voting in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1799
Committee Amendment CA_A_H794 (House)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §335, 21-A MRSA §336, 21-A MRSA §371, 21-A MRSA §696

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1253, L.D. 1799, Bill, "An Act To 
Establish Open Ballot Voting in Maine" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Allow Cross-endorsement by Qualified Parties' 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the 
fonowing: 
'Mandate preamble. This measure requires one or more local units of government 
to expand or modify activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local 
revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to 
the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, 2/3 of an of the members elected to 
each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure. ' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 21-A MRS A §321, first~, as amended by PL 2005, c. 387, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
Each party shall hold a state convention between March 1 st and August +st 15th 
biennially during each general election year. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRS A §334, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, §21, is further 
amended to read: 
§334. Qualification of candidate for primary nomination 
A candidate for nomination by primary election must file a primary nominating 
petition and consent under sections 335 and 336. The candidate must be enrolled, on or 
before March 15th, in the party named in the petition and must be eligible to file a 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1253, L.D. 1799 
petition as a candidate for nomination by primary election under section 144, subsection 
3. The registrar in the candidate's municipality of residence must certify to that fact upon 
the petition. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §335, as amended by PL 2005, c. 453, §§47 and 48, is further 
amended to read: 
§335. Petition requirements 
A primary nominating petition sHaH must be on a form provided by the Secretary of 
State and is governed by the following provisions. 
1. Content. A primary nominating petition must contain the name of only one 
candidate, ffis that candidate's place of residence, ffis that candidate's party, the party or 
parties qualified under section 301 for which that candidate seeks the nomination, the 
office sought and electoral division. A primary nominating petition may contain as many 
separate papers as necessary and may contain the candidate's consent required by section 
336. 
A. When 2 United States Senators or 2 county commissioners are to be nominated, 
the primary nominating petition must contain the term of office sought by the 
candidate. 
2. By whom signed. A primary nominating petition may be signed only by voters of 
the electoral division whleft that is to make the nomination and who are enrolled in the 
party named in the petition in which the candidate is enrolled. Other signatures are void. 
3. How signed. The voter must personally sign ffis the voter's name in such a 
manner as to satisfy the registrar of fl-i.s the voter's municipality that he the voter is a 
registered voter and enrolled in the party named on the petition. Either the voter or the 
circulator of the petition must print the voter's name. 
4. Residence. The voter or the circulator of the petition must write or print the 
voter's residence address and municipality of registration. Ditto marks are permitted for 
residence address and municipality of registration only. 
5. Number of signatures required. Petitions must be signed by the following 
numbers of voters, notwithstanding the number of parties for which the candidate seeks 
the nomination: 
A. For candidate for Governor, at least 2,000 and not more than 3,000 voters; 
B. For a candidate for United States Senator, at least 2,000 and not more than 3,000 
voters; 
C. For a candidate for Representative to Congress, at least 1,000 and not more than 
1,500 voters; 
D. For a candidate for county office other than county commissioner, at least ISO 
and not more than 200 voters; 
E. For a candidate for county commissioner, at least 50 and not more than 75 voters; 
F. For a candidate for State Senator, at least 100 and not more than 150 voters; and 
G. For a candidate for State Representative, at least 25 and not more than 40 voters. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A .. to H.P.1253, L.D. 1799 
6. When signed. A petition may not be signed before January 1 st of the election 
year in which it is to be used. 
7. Certification of petition. A primary nominating petition sfl.alt must be verified 
and certified as follows. 
A. The circulator of a primary nominating petition shall verify by oath or affirmation 
before a notary public or other person authorized by law to administer oaths or 
affirmations that all of the signatures to the petition were made in the circulator's 
presence and that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is 
the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; each signature authorized 
under section 153-A was made by the authorized signer in the presence and at the 
direction of the voter; and each person is enrolled in the party named in the petition in 
which the candidate is enrolled and is a resident of the electoral division named in the 
petition. 
B. The registrar, or clerk at the request or upon the absence of the registrar, of each 
municipality concerned shall certify which names on a petition appear in the central 
voter registration system as registered and enrol1ed voters in that municipality and 
may not certify any names that do not satisfy subsection 3. 
8. 
When filed. A primary nominating petition must be filed in the office of the 
Secretary of State before 5 p.m. on March 15th of the election year in which it is to be 
used. 
9. Petition or names void. A primary nominating petition whleft that does not meet 
the requirements of this section is void. If a voter or a circulator fails to comply with this 
section in signing or printing the voter's name and address, that voter's name may not be 
counted, but the petition is otherwise valid. 
Sec. 4. 
21-A MRSA §336, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, §24, is further 
amended to read: 
§336. Consent of candidate to be filed 
The written consent of each candidate must be filed with his primary the candidate's 
nominating petition. 
1. Consent. The consent must contain a statement signed by the candidate that he 
the candidate will accept the nomination of the primary election. The statement may be 
printed as a part of the primary nominating petition. 
2. Single filing sufficient. A candidate need file only one consent. This consent is 
valid even though it may be part of a primary nominating petition wJ:HeI:t that is void. 
3. Residence and party declared. The consent must contain a declaration of the 
candidate's place of residence and party designation and a statement that the candidate 
meets the qualifications of the office the candidate seeks, which 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 chal1enge 
procedures in section 337, any part of the declaration is found to be false by the Secretary 
of State, the consent and the primary nominating petition are void. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. fJr .. to H.P. 1253, L.D.1799 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRS A §337, as amended by PL 2003, c. 447, §11, is further 
amended to read: 
§337. Review and challenge of petitions 
1. Review. When presented with a primary nominating petition, the Secretary of 
State shall review it and, if the petition contains the required number of certified names 
and is properly completed, shall accept and file it. 
2. Challenges. The procedure for challenging the validity of a primaF)' nominating 
petition or of names upon a petition is as follows. 
A. 
Only a registered voter residing in the electoral division of the candidate 
concerned may file a challenge. The challenge must be in writing and must set forth 
the reasons for the challenge. The challenge must be filed in the office of the 
Secretary of State before 5 p.m. on the 5th business day after the final date for filing 
petitions under section 335, subsection 8. 
B. Within 7 days after the final date for filing challenges and after due notice of the 
hearing to the candidate and to the challenger, the Secretary of State shall hold a 
public hearing on any challenge properly filed. The challenger has the burden of 
providing sufficient evidence to invalidate the petitions or any names upon the 
petitions. 
C. The Secretary of State shall rule on the validity of any challenge within 5 days 
after the completion of the hearing described in paragraph B. 
D. A challenger or a candidate may appeal the decision of the Secretary of State by 
commencing an action in the Superior Court. This action must be conducted in 
accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80C, except as modified 
by this section. This action must be commenced within 5 days of the date of the 
decision of the Secretary of State and must be tried, without a jury, within 10 days of 
the date of that decision. Upon timely application, anyone may intervene in this 
action when the applicant claims an interest relating to the subject matter of the 
petitions, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by existing parties. 
The court shall issue a written decision containing its findings of fact and conclusions 
of law and setting forth the reasons for its decision within 20 days of the date of the 
decision of the Secretary of State. 
E. Any aggrieved party may appeal the decision of the Superior Court, on questions 
of law, by filing a notice of appeal within 3 days of that decision. The record on 
appeal must be transmitted to the Law Court within 3 days after notice of appeal is 
filed. 
After filing notice of appeal, the parties have 4 days to file briefs and 
appendices with the clerk of courts. As soon as the record and briefs have been filed, 
the court shall immediately consider the case. The court shall issue its decision 
within 14 days of the date of the decision of the Superior Court. 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA c. 5, sub-c. 2-A is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 2-A 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" {:t" to H.P. 1253, L.D. 1799 
CROSS-ENDORSEMENT BY CONVENTION 
§358. Cross-endorsement 
A candidate for any federal, state or county office may seek the nomination of any 
party in addition to the party in which the candidate is enrolled and a party may nominate 
by convention a candidate from another party who has sought the nomination of the 
party. Candidates are eligible for nomination by cross-endorsement by a party only if the 
candidate seeking cross-endorsement listed the party on nominating petitions under 
section 335 and collected the requisite number of signatures under section 335. 
§359. Time and nature of nominating convention 
A party shall hold a nominating convention no later than August 15th of each general 
election year. 
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §371, as amended by PL 2007, c. 455, § 15, is further 
amended to read: 
§371. Candidates for nomination 
If a candidate for nomination dies, withdraws at least 60 days before the primary or 
becomes disqualified after having filed the candidate's primary nominating petition, so 
that a party has fewer candidates than there are offices to be filled, the vacancy may be 
filled by a political committee pursuant to section 363. The Secretary of State shall 
declare the vacancy pursuant to section 362-A. A candidate for nomination may not 
withdraw less than 60 days before the primary election. 
Sec. 8. 21-A MRS A §601, sub-§2,~, as amended by PL 2007, c. 455, §18, is 
further amended to read: 
B. The ballot must contain the legal 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. +fie For 
the primary election, the name of each candidate may be printed on the ballot in only 
one space. For the general election ballot, the part)' or political designation of each 
candidate ml:'lst be printed with each candidate's the name of a candidate nominated 
by more than one party must be printed once for each party. If a candidate is 
nominated by more than one party, the party in which the candidate is enrolled shall 
be listed first. The party or political designation may be abbreviated. 
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2005, c. 404, §5, 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. If a voter marks the ballot for the same candidate who has been 
endorsed by more than one party more than once for the same office, the voter's choice 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "if .. to H.P. 1253, L.D. 1799 
must be counted as if the voter cast one vote for that candidate and for the party for which 
the candidate is enrolled.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report, replaces the bill. It permits any 
qualified political party to cross-endorse a candidate in another party who has met all the 
requirements to be a candidate in a state, county or federal election and who has sought 
the endorsement of that party. A party that wishes to cross-endorse a candidate from 
another party must do so by convention. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03118/08 hac 
State Mandates 
LD 1799 
LR 1294(02) 
An Act To Establish Open Ballot Voting in Maine 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "It" 
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
State Mandate - Unfunded 
Required Activity 
Unit Affected 
Requiring the names of candidates nominated by more than one party to be listed on 
Municipality 
the ballot once for each party will require municipalities to change the coding for 
optical scan tabulating machines. There are 217 machines for which the coding cost 
will be $7.50 per each additional line. Assuming one additional line per election, the 
total cost for these machines would equal $1,628. There are an additional 104 
machines for which the cost is unknown. Assuming one line per election, with a low 
range cost of$7.50 per line and a high range cost of$15 per line, the range would be 
$780 to $1,560. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Secretary of State can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR1294(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1 
Costs 
Significant