An Act To Establish a Presidential Primary in the State
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1882
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: RAYE, NUTTING, COURTNEY, BEAULIEU, CAIN, CAREY, CURTIS
Amends: 21-A MRSA §335, 21-A MRSA §601-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1882 
S.P. 659 
In Senate, March 15, 2012 
An Act To Establish a Presidential Primary in the State 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by President RAYE of Washington. 
Cosponsored by Speaker NUTTING of Oakland and 
Senator: COURTNEY of York, Representatives: BEAULIEU of Auburn, CAIN of Orono, 
CAREY of Lewiston, CURTIS of Madison. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §335, sub-§5, ¶B-2 is enacted to read: 
B-2.  For a candidate for the office of President of the United States, at least 2,000 
and not more than 3,000 voters; 
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §335, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, §6, is amended 
to read: 
6.  When signed. A  Except as provided in subchapter 7, a petition may not be signed 
before January 1st of the election year in which it is to be used. 
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §335, sub-§8, as amended by PL 1995, c. 459, §23, is 
further amended to read: 
8.  When filed. A  Except as provided in subchapter 7, a primary 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. 
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA c. 5, sub-c. 7 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 7 
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
§431.  Determination and date of primary; voter eligibility 
1.  Determination of primary.  Whenever the state committee of a party certifies 
that there is a contest among candidates for nomination as the presidential candidate of 
the party and that the committee has voted to conduct a presidential primary election, the 
State shall hold a presidential primary election. 
2.  Date of primary.    A presidential primary election held pursuant to subsection 1 
may not be held earlier than January 1st of the year in which the presidential election is 
held.  The date of the presidential primary election must be chosen in the following 
manner. 
A.  If certification is made pursuant to subsection 1 for only one party and that party 
chooses a date for the presidential primary election, the State shall hold the election 
on that date.  The party shall deliver to the Secretary of State notification of the 
chosen date by December 1st of the year prior to the presidential election year. 
B.  If certification is made pursuant to subsection 1 for more than one party and those 
parties agree by November 1st of the year prior to the presidential election year to 
one date, the State shall hold the presidential primary election on that agreed-upon 
date. 
C.  If a party does not choose a date pursuant to paragraph A or there is no agreement 
on a date pursuant to paragraph B, the State shall hold the presidential primary 
election on the first Tuesday in March or the first Tuesday after the presidential 
primary election in New Hampshire, whichever is earlier, as long as the election is 
held in the presidential election year. The date for the presidential primary election 
may not be earlier than the presidential primary election in New Hampshire. 
3.  Eligible voter.  Notwithstanding section 340, subsection 1, only a voter who is 
enrolled in a party may vote in the party's presidential primary election. 
§432.  Party certification 
The state committee of a party shall file the certification described in section 431, 
subsection 1 with the Secretary of State by December 1st of the year prior to the 
presidential election year.  This certification must contain the following: 
1.  Statement of contest.  A statement that there is a contest among candidates for 
nomination as the presidential candidate of the party; 
2.  Identification of contestants.  Identification of at least 2 candidates who have 
declared as contestants for nomination as the presidential candidate of the party; and 
3.  Statement of committee vote.  A statement that the state committee has voted to 
conduct a presidential primary election. 
§433.  Petitions 
On or before July 1st of the year prior to a presidential election year, the Secretary of 
State shall prepare and make available petitions for circulation by a person desiring to be 
a contestant in the Maine presidential primary election of any party.  This petition must 
be completed and filed at least 45 days before the primary election in the manner 
provided in sections 335 and 336. 
§434.  Ballot preparation; candidate eligibility 
The Secretary of State shall prepare ballots for a presidential primary election under 
this subchapter in accordance with section 601-B. 
1.  Petitions.  A ballot must include the name of a person who files with the Secretary 
of State a petition in accordance with section 433.  The Secretary of State shall determine 
if a petition meets the requirements of sections 335, 336 and 433, subject to challenge and 
appeal under section 337. 
2.  Secretary of State determination.  The following provisions govern the 
Secretary of State's selection of presidential candidates to appear on the ballot. 
A.  A ballot must include the name of a person who is a member of a party that has 
qualified under subchapter 1 and who has been determined by the Secretary of State, 
in the Secretary of State's sole discretion, to be generally advocated or recognized as 
a presidential candidate of nationwide stature in the national news media throughout 
the United States.  This subsection may not be construed to include so-called favorite 
son candidates whose candidacy may be limited to one state. 
B.  The Secretary of State shall determine which candidates will be placed on the 
ballot under this subsection at least 30 days before the ballots are prepared.  The 
Secretary of State shall promptly notify a person that the person's name will appear 
on the ballot and advise that person of the steps under paragraph C that the person 
must take if the person does not wish to appear on the ballot. 
C.  A person who the Secretary of State determines should be placed on the ballot 
under this subsection may have the person's name withdrawn from the ballot by filing 
an affidavit with the Secretary of State in which the person swears an oath that the 
person requests that the person's name be withdrawn from the ballot. 
In order to withdraw a person's name from the ballot, the affidavit must be received 
by the Secretary of State at least 45 days before the date designated for the 
presidential primary election. 
§435.  Selection of delegates 
If a party chooses to participate in a presidential primary election under this 
subchapter, delegates to national presidential nominating conventions may be selected by 
the party meeting in convention under subchapter 1, article 3 at any time after the 
presidential primary election. 
Selection of delegates must be in accordance with any reasonable procedures 
established at the state party convention.  In the absence of any procedures established by 
state or national party rules, the allocation of delegates must be as follows. 
1.  Proportional allocation.  Delegates to the national convention must be allocated 
in proportion with the candidate votes and the uncommitted votes cast in the presidential 
primary election of the party. 
A.  A candidate receiving 10% or more of the total votes for candidates or 
uncommitted is allocated a share of delegates that approaches, as closely as possible, 
the respective share of the total vote. 
B.  The percentages of votes attributable to candidates receiving less than 10% of the 
total vote must be added to the total percentage of uncommitted votes for the purpose 
of allocating delegates. 
2.  Uncommitted delegates.  A delegate elected as an uncommitted delegate may 
support any presidential candidate at any time and may change support for this candidate 
in the delegate's sole discretion. 
3.  Committed delegates.  A delegate elected for a particular presidential candidate 
according to the proportional allocation specified by this section shall vote for that 
candidate on the first ballot at the national presidential nominating convention, unless the 
state committee of the party affirmatively votes to follow another procedure or, prior to 
the filing of the certification under section 431, subsection 1, the candidate for whom a 
particular delegate is elected specifically withdraws, as verified by the chair of the 
national party, from consideration for the presidential nomination at any time before the 
first ballot at the national presidential nominating convention. 
§436.  Cost 
Whenever a municipality complies with the provisions of this subchapter, the State 
shall bear the cost incurred. 
§437.  Effective date 
This subchapter takes effect July 1, 2013. 
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §601-B is enacted to read: 
§601-B.  Presidential primary ballot 
The Secretary of State shall prepare presidential primary election ballots in 
accordance with section 434 and the following provisions. 
1.  Arrangement.  The ballot must be arranged in a manner that is as consistent and 
uniform as possible throughout the State. 
2.  Content.  The ballot must contain the items listed in this subsection. 
A.  Instructions must be printed in bold type at the top of the ballot informing the 
voter how to designate the voter's choice on the ballot. 
B.  The ballot must contain the name, without any title, and place of residence of each 
candidate, arranged alphabetically with the last name first in block capital letters, 
followed by the first name and middle name or initial, or followed by the first name 
or first initial and the middle name.  The name of each candidate may be printed on 
the ballot in only one space. 
C.  There must be a place on the ballot for the voter to designate the voter's choice. 
D.  There must be a heading on the ballot that contains the title of the election, the 
name of the party, the name of the voting district or districts for which the ballot was 
prepared, the date of the election and a facsimile of the state seal. 
E.  At the end of the list of candidates for nomination, there must be printed the word 
"uncommitted" in such a way that a voter may choose this preference rather than a 
listed candidate. 
F.  At the end of the list of candidates for nomination and after the "uncommitted" 
option, there may not be any blank spaces left where a voter could write in the name 
or place a sticker containing the name of any person for whom the voter desires to 
vote. 
3.  Distinctively colored.  The ballots must be printed separately for each party on 
paper of a distinctive color, using white for the party that cast the greatest number of 
votes for Governor at the last gubernatorial election and yellow for the party that cast the 
2nd highest.  The Secretary of State shall choose a distinctive color for ballots for any 
other party. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the presidential nomination process in the State.  The bill provides 
that, whenever the state committee of a party certifies that there is a contest among 
candidates for nomination as the presidential candidate of the party and that the 
committee has voted to conduct a presidential primary election, the State shall hold a 
presidential primary election.  Under the bill, only voters who are enrolled in the party 
may vote in that party's presidential primary election.  Under the bill, delegates to the 
national convention must be allocated in proportion with the candidate votes and the 
uncommitted votes cast in the presidential primary election of the party.