An Act To Amend the Laws Concerning Write-in Candidates for Elected Office To Increase Fairness
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0547
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: BOWMAN
Amends: 21-A MRSA §722-A

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124th MAl E LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 547 
S.P.207 
In Senate, February 12,2009 
An Act To Amend the Laws Concerning Write-in Candidates for 
Elected Office To Increase Fairness 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator BOWMAN of York. (BY REQUEST) 
Printed on recycled paper 
9tf)(Y~ 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRS A §603, sub~§7 is enacted to read: 
7. List of write-in candidates attached. The Secretary of State shall attach to the 
sample ballot a list of declared whte~in cimdidates as described in section 722-A. The 
clerk shall post this list in the same manner as required by section 625 for sample ballots. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRS A §692;- sub-§2, as amended by PL 1993, c. 473, §22 and 
affected by §46, is further amended to read: 
c. 2. Write-in vote. If the voter wishes to vote for a person who;e name is not on the 
ballot, the voter must write the name and municipality of residence in the blank space 
provided at the end of the list of nominees for the office in question. The voter must then 
mark the ballot as instructed in the directions on the ballot. . A sticker may net be used to 
vote for a write-in candidate. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA- §711, first 4ijf, as amendedby PL 2001, c. 516, §12, is further 
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amended to read: 
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As soon as the results of the election have been declared, the election return must be 
prepared. The warden at each ward or precinct shall fill out the election return form 
provided by the Secretary of State, showing the number of votes cast for each candidate 
or question andrecording the total number of state. ballots cast in that ward or precinct. 
The warden and one other election official shall sign the return andimInediately deliver it 
to the municipal clerk. The form provided by the Secretary of State shall include the 
names of all candidates, including declared write-in candidates as determined by section 
722-A. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §722-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 455, §40, is further 
amended to read: 
§722-A. Determination of write-in candidate 
To be considered a valid write-in candidate, a person must fIle a declaration of write-
in candidacy with the Secretary of State, on a form approved by the Secretary of State, on 
or before 5 p.m. on the 3rd business 45th day prior to the election. The candidate must 
meet all the other qualifications for that office. 
Sec. 5. Secretary of State to include information on write-in candidates 
on' website. The Secretary of State is directed to amend the design of the Secretary of 
State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions portion of the publicly 
accessible website that provides information for voters to include the names of all 
qualified candidates for the office of Governor and for the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, including declared write-in candidates as determined by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 21-A, section 722-A. No later than February 1, 2010, the Secretary of 
State shall present to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over election matters the amended design of the website. 
Page I - 124LRI046(Ol)-1 
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SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws pertaining to write-in candidates. It strikes the requirement 
that a voter must include a write-in candidate's municipality of residence when marking a 
general election ballot. It also allows for the use of stickers in order to place the name of 
a write-in candidate on a ballot. Current law requires that a candidate file a declaration 
with the Secretary of State 3 business days prior to an election to be considered a declared 
write-in candidate. 
This bill changes that requirement to 45 days prior to an election. 
The bill also requires the Secretary of State to provide a list of write-in candidates with 
sample ballots provided to municipalities and to include a list of all candidates on the 
tally sheets provided to election clerks for listing election results. Finally, this bill directs 
the Secretary of State to amend the voter information portion of its website to include the 
names of all qualified candidates for Governor, the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, including write-in candidates.