An Act To Amend Certain Laws Governing Elections
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1904
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: LUCHINI, BRYANT, CHIPMAN, CLAXTON, CRAVEN, HUBBELL, SCHNECK, TEPLER
Amends: 21-A MRSA §128, 21-A MRSA §363, 21-A MRSA §365, 21-A MRSA §372, 21-A MRSA §373, 21-A MRSA §374-A, 21-A MRSA §503-A, 21-A MRSA §711, 21-A MRSA §712, 21-A MRSA §760-B, 21-A MRSA §901

Legislative Document
No. 1904
S.P. 656
In Senate, December 24, 2019
An Act To Amend Certain Laws Governing Elections
Submitted by the Secretary of State pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 20, 2019.  Referred to the Committee 
on Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator LUCHINI of Hancock.
Cosponsored by Representative BRYANT of Windham and
Senators: CHIPMAN of Cumberland, CLAXTON of Androscoggin, SANBORN, L. of 
Cumberland, Representatives: CRAVEN of Lewiston, HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, 
McCREIGHT of Harpswell, SCHNECK of Bangor, TEPLER of Topsham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §128, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 453, §20, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Registrar shall review records.  The registrar shall review the records of 
marriage, death, change of name and change of address in the office of the clerk or the 
assessors or as provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of 
Vital Records or the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles and 
shall revise the central voter registration system accordingly;.
A.  In addition to official records authorized by this subsection, the registrar or the 
Secretary of State may use the following notices of death as a basis to cancel a voter's 
record in the central voter registration system as long as the registrar or Secretary of 
State determines that the record matches the record of that registered voter.
(1)  A published obituary may be used if it contains the name of the registered 
voter along with the date and place of death of that voter.
(2)  A notice from an immediate family member of the registered voter may be 
used if it contains the name of the voter along with the date and place of death of 
that voter and is signed by the immediate family member.  The Secretary of State 
shall design a form to be used for this purpose;
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §363, first ¶, as amended by PL 1993, c. 447, §3, is further 
amended to read:
The meeting of a political committee as required by sections 371, 373, 374-A, 381, 
and 393 is governed by the following provisions.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §365, first ¶, as amended by PL 2003, c. 510, Pt. A, §13, is 
further amended to read:
The political committee that has jurisdiction over the choice of a candidate for 
nomination or a nominee to fill a vacancy under sections 371, 373, 374-A, 381 and 382 is 
as follows.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §372, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, §6, is repealed.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §373, as amended by PL 2001, c. 310, §23, is repealed.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §374-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 447, §12, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Withdrawal and replacement of nominees.  The Secretary of State shall declare 
the vacancy as provided in section 362-A and a political committee may make a 
replacement nomination following a candidate's withdrawal only if a person nominated 
for an office, other than United States Senator, Representative to Congress or Governor, 
at a primary election or by a political committee:
A.  Withdraws on or before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July preceding the general 
election in accordance with section 367;
B.  Withdraws because of a catastrophic illness, condition or injury that has 
permanently and continuously incapacitated the candidate and would prevent 
performance of the duties of the office sought, as long as the candidate or a member 
of the candidate's immediate family files with the Secretary of State a certificate 
accompanying the withdrawal request that describes the illness, condition or injury 
and is signed by a licensed physician; or
C.  Dies prior to the general election.
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §503-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 64, §2, is 
amended to read:
1.  Qualifications; compensation.  Election clerks must be at least 18 years of age, 
must be registered to vote and must be residents of the municipality or the county in 
which they serve, except that residents of a municipality or county who are 16 or 17 years 
of age and who are conditionally registered to vote pursuant to section 155 also qualify to 
serve as election clerks.  Election clerks are entitled to reasonable compensation as 
determined by the municipal officers.
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §711, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 455, §39, is 
further amended to read:
3.  Clerk to record file election return.  The clerk shall record the attested copies 
file an attested copy of the election return with the Secretary of State within 3 2 business 
days after election day.  If an attested copy of an election return is not delivered to the 
Secretary of State by 5 p.m. on the 2nd business day after an election, the Secretary of 
State may send a courier to the municipality concerned, and the clerk shall give that 
courier an attested copy of the return.  The municipality shall reimburse the Secretary of 
State for the costs of the courier service.
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §712, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §25, is repealed.
Sec. 10.  21-A MRSA §760-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §38, is 
further amended to read:
2.  Notice of early processing.  The clerk must give notice of the municipality's 
intent to process absentee ballots prior to election day using a notice of early processing 
form provided by the Secretary of State, stating the days and times that the clerk intends 
to begin processing absentee ballots and the inspection period provided in subsection 3.  
At least 60 days before election day, the clerk shall provide a copy of the notice of early 
processing to the Secretary of State and the chairs of each political party of the 
municipality indicating that early processing of absentee ballots will occur.  The notice to 
the political parties must be considered sufficient as long as it is mailed to the last address 
of each municipal chair that is known to the clerk.  The notice to the Secretary of State 
may be delivered by mail or facsimile or as a scanned attachment to an e-mail address 
established by the Secretary of State.  If the notice is not received by the Secretary of 
State by 5:00 p.m. on the 60th day before election day, the municipality may not process 
absentee ballots prior to election day.  The clerk shall post a copy of the notice of early 
processing with the notice of election as provided in section 621-A.
Sec. 11.  21-A MRSA §901, first ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §57, is 
further amended to read:
To initiate proceedings for a people's veto referendum or the direct initiative of 
legislation, provided in the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Sections 17 and 
18, a voter shall submit a written application to the Department of the Secretary of State 
on a form designed by the Secretary of State.  The application must contain the names, 
residence addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and signatures of 5 voters, in 
addition to the applicant, who are designated to receive any notices in proceedings under 
this chapter.  The Secretary of State shall provide such notices by e-mail only.  For a 
direct initiative, the application must contain the full text of the proposed law and a 
summary that explains the purpose and intent of the direct initiative in both electronic and 
printed formats.  The voter submitting the application shall sign the application in the 
presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State's designee or a notary public.
SUMMARY
The bill makes the following changes to the election laws.
1.  It provides 2 additional methods of notice of deceased voters that election officials 
can use to maintain their voter files.
2.  It lowers the age of qualification to be an election official from 17 years of age to 
years of age to correspond to a recent change in law that allows for the conditional 
registration of 16-year-olds.
3.  It shortens the time that municipalities have to submit their official election returns 
to the Secretary of State from 3 business days to 2 business days after the election, and it 
moves the provision for sending a courier to retrieve delinquent returns to the same 
section of law as the filing requirement.
4.  It adds a requirement that a clerk must post a copy of the notice of early 
processing of absentee ballots along with the notice of election.
5.  It specifies additional information that must be provided on an application for a 
citizen's initiative or people's veto referendum and provides that notices must be provided 
to the applicants and other voters who are designated to receive notices by e-mail only.
6.  It changes the withdrawal provisions for United States Senator, Representative to 
Congress and Governor to match those of other offices.