An Act To Establish a Presidential Primary System in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1673
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: ALFOND, PARRY, BAKER, BREEN, BURNS, CUSHING, CYRWAY, DAVIS, DIAMOND, DILL, GRATWICK, HASKELL, HILL, JOHNSON, LIBBY, ROSEN, SAVIELLO, THIBODEAU, VOLK, WOODSOME, BATTLE, BEAVERS, BECK, BEEBE-CENTER, BLACK, BURSTEIN, CHENETTE, CHIPMAN, COREY, CRAFTS, DAUGHTRY, DAVITT, DUCHESNE, DUNPHY, EVANGELOS, FOLEY, FREDETTE, GERRISH, HANINGTON, HANLEY, HARRINGTON, HAWKE, HEAD, HOBART, HOGAN, HUBBELL, HYMANSON, KINNEY, KORNFIELD, LAJOIE, LOCKMAN, LONG, LONGSTAFF, MAKER, MALABY, MARTIN, MOONEN, O'CONNOR, ORDWAY, PICCHIOTTI, PIERCE, PRESCOTT, RUSSELL, RYKERSON, SAUCIER, SCHNECK, SEAVEY, SIROCKI, SKOLFIELD, TEPLER, TIMBERLAKE, TIMMONS, TUELL, TURNER, VACHON, WADSWORTH, WARD, WARREN, WELSH
Amends: 21-A MRSA §335, 21-A MRSA §601-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1673 
S.P. 685 
In Senate, March 23, 2016 
An Act To Establish a Presidential Primary System in Maine 
(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. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator ALFOND of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative PARRY of Arundel and 
Senators: BAKER of Sagadahoc, BREEN of Cumberland, BURNS of Washington, CUSHING 
of Penobscot, CYRWAY of Kennebec, DAVIS of Piscataquis, DIAMOND of Cumberland, 
DILL of Penobscot, GRATWICK of Penobscot, HASKELL of Cumberland, HILL of York, 
JOHNSON of Lincoln, LIBBY of Androscoggin, ROSEN of Hancock, SAVIELLO of 
Franklin, President THIBODEAU of Waldo, VOLK of Cumberland, WOODSOME of York, 
Representatives: BATTLE of South Portland, BEAVERS of South Berwick, BECK of 
Waterville, BEEBE-CENTER of Rockland, BLACK of Wilton, BURSTEIN of Lincolnville, 
Printed on recycled paper 
CAMPBELL of Newfield, CHENETTE of Saco, CHIPMAN of Portland, COREY of 
Windham, CRAFTS of Lisbon, DAUGHTRY of Brunswick, DAVITT of Hampden, 
DUCHESNE of Hudson, DUNPHY of Old Town, EVANGELOS of Friendship, FOLEY of 
Wells, FREDETTE of Newport, GERRISH of Lebanon, HANINGTON of Lincoln, HANLEY 
of Pittston, HARRINGTON of Sanford, HAWKE of Boothbay Harbor, HEAD of Bethel, 
HOBART of Bowdoinham, HOGAN of Old Orchard Beach, HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, 
HYMANSON of York, KINNEY of Limington, KORNFIELD of Bangor, LAJOIE of 
Lewiston, LOCKMAN of Amherst, LONG of Sherman, LONGSTAFF of Waterville, MAKER 
of Calais, MALABY of Hancock, MARTIN of Sinclair, McCABE of Skowhegan, 
McCREIGHT of Harpswell, McELWEE of Caribou, McLEAN of Gorham, MOONEN of 
Portland, O'CONNOR of Berwick, ORDWAY of Standish, PICCHIOTTI of Fairfield, 
PIERCE of Dresden, PIERCE of Falmouth, PRESCOTT of Waterboro, RUSSELL of Portland, 
RYKERSON of Kittery, SAUCIER of Presque Isle, SCHNECK of Bangor, SEAVEY of 
Kennebunkport, SIROCKI of Scarborough, SKOLFIELD of Weld, TEPLER of Topsham, 
TIMBERLAKE of Turner, TIMMONS of Cumberland, TUELL of East Machias, TURNER of 
Burlington, VACHON of Scarborough, WADSWORTH of Hiram, WARD of Dedham, 
WARREN of Hallowell, WELSH of Rockport. 
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 Saturday after the first Friday in March. 
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 for 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 
1.  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. 
2.  Allocation of delegates.  In the absence of any procedures established by state or 
national party rules, the allocation of delegates must be as set out in this subsection. 
A.  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. 
(1)  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. 
(2)  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. 
B.  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. 
C.  A delegate elected for a particular presidential candidate according to the 
proportional allocation specified by paragraph A 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, 2017. 
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 presidential primary election ballot must be arranged in a 
manner that is as consistent and uniform as possible throughout the State. 
2.  Content.  The presidential primary election 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 presidential primary election 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, to be in place for 
the 2020 presidential election.  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.