An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1571
Committee Amendment CA_A_H439 (House)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §301, 21-A MRSA §303, 21-A MRSA §303-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/t,, to H.P. 1082, L.D. 1571, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Election Laws Relating to Party Qualification" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §301, sub-§1, ,rE, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 426, §2, is 
amended to read: 
E. At least 10,000 voters enrolled in the party voted in the last general election~ 
except that a qualified party does not have to meet this enrollment until the 2nd 
general election after it has qualified and thereafter. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §303, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 131, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Enrollment of voters. Within 5 business days after the declaration of intent 
required in subsection 1 is filed, the Secretary of State shall ce1tify whether the 
application meets the requirements of subsection 1 and, if so, notify the applicants that 
they may enroll voters in the proposed party under sections 141 to 145. On or before 
December 1st Janua1y 2nd of the odd numbered next even-numbered year following the 
filing of the application under subsection 1, the applicants must file a certification with 
the Secretmy of State, on a form designed by the Secretaty of State, that they have at least 
5,000 voters enrolled in the proposed patty. The Secretaty of State shall verify the 
proposed party's enrollment figures within & 12 business days of receiving the proposed 
party's certification and notify the applicants whether the proposed party has met the 
requirements to pmticipate in a primaty election in the subsequent even-numbered year. 
A determination by the Secreta1y of State that the party has not met these requirements 
may be challenged pursuant to section 303-A. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §303-A is enacted to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT/}" to H.P. 1082, L.D. 1571 
§303-A. Challenge to denial of party qualification 
If the Secretaty of State determines that a patty has not met the requirements to 
qualify as a patty pursuant to section 303, the proposed patty may challenge that 
detennination. The procedure for challenging the determination is as follows. 
1. Challenge. A challenge under this section must be in writing, signed by the 
voters who signed the declaration of intent to form a patty by enrollment, and must set 
forth the reasons for the challenge. The challenge may include a request for copies of 
voter registration and enrollment or change of enrollment applications that were rejected 
by municipal registrars from up to 15 named municipalities. The challenge must be filed 
in the office of the Secreta1y of State before 5 p.m. on the 5th business day after the patty 
receives the secretaty's determination. 
2. Notification. Within 5 business days of receiving a properly filed challenge under 
subsection 1, the Secretaty of State shall notify the municipalities listed by the challenger 
and direct the municipal officials of those municipalities to submit copies of the rejected 
voter registration and enrollment or change of enrollment applications if requested under 
subsection 1 to the Secretaty of State within 5 business days. 
3. 
Public hearing. 
Within 15 business days after receipt of a properly filed 
challenge under subsection 1, and after providing due notice of the hearing to the 
challenger, the Secretaty of State shall hold a public hearing on the challenge. The 
hearing must be held in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. The 
challenger has the burden of providing sufficient evidence to establish that the party did 
enroll a minimum of 5,000 voters by the applicable deadline pursuant to section 303. 
4. Ruling. The Secretaty of State shall rule on the validity of any challenge within 5 
business days after the completion of the hearing described in subsection 3. 
5. Appeal of Secretary of State's determination. A challenger may appeal the 
detennination of the Secretary of State under subsection 4 by commencing an action in 
the Superior Court. This action must be conducted in accordance with the Maine Rules 
of Civil Procedure, Rule SOC, except as modified by this section. This action must be 
commenced within 5 business days of the date of the determination of the Secretaty of 
State. Upon timely application, a person may intervene in this action if the person claims 
an interest relating to the subject matter of the petitions, unless the person's interest is 
adequately represented by existing patties. 
The comt 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 determination of the Secretary of State. 
6. Appeal of Superior Court decision. A challenger may appeal the decision of the 
Superior Comt under subsection 5, 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 Comt 
8 
within 3 days after notice of appeal is filed. After filing notice of appeal, the patties have 
days to file briefs and appendices with the clerk of comts. As soon as the record and 
briefs have been filed, the court shall immediately consider the case. The comt shall issue 
its decision within 14 days of the date of the decision of the Superior Comt. 
Sec. 4. 
Retroactivity. 
Sections 1 and 2 of this Act apply retroactively to 
November 1, 2016 and apply to any party whose nominee for President of the United 
States appeared on the ballot at the general election on November 8, 2016.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMl1TEE AMENDMENT ·A "ID H.P. 1082, L.D. 1571 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill and is the majority report of the committee. The 
amendment extends the date by which a patty may qualify as a party by submitting an 
application to the Secretary of State with the required number of voters enrolled in the 
proposed party. The amendment also provides that a patty has 2 general election cycles 
to enroll the required number of voters to maintain patty status. CutTent law provides for 
one general election cycle to emoll the required 10,000 voters. 
Like the bill, the 
amendment establishes an appeal process if the Secretary of State denies an application 
for party qualification. These changes to the process of party qualification are intended to 
address legal issues raised by the Libertarian Party of Maine in a lawsuit filed in 2016, 
Libertarian Party of Maine v. Dunlap, Docket No. 2: 16-cv-00002-JA W, and addressed 
by the United States District Court in a preliminary injunction order issued on May 27, 
2016. 
This amendment also provides that the party qualifications in this amendment apply 
retroactively to November 1, 2016. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/27 /17 feac 
LD 1571 
LR 2162(02) 
An Act To Amend the Election Laws Relating to Party Qualification 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment Ir (JI -lf 3 ~ 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
,, 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Increases the number of civil suits. 
The collection of additional filing fees may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Secretaiy of State associated with establishing and administering the denial and 
appeal processes can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2 l 62(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1