An Act to Improve Elect10n Laws and Notarial Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1980
Committee Amendment CA_A_S365 (Senate)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §692, 21-A MRSA §696, 21-A MRSA §737-A, 21-A MRSA §759, 21-A MRSA §905-A, 5 MRSA §86

COM1\1ITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to SP 809, L D 1980, "An Act to Improve 
Elect10n Laws and Notarial Laws" 
Amend the bill by msertmg after the title and before the enactmg clause the followmg 
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adJournment unless enacted as emergencies, and 
Whereas, the effective date of the pt ov1s10ns regardmg a mamage officiant license 
and commumcatton technology used to perf01m iemote or electromc notarization, for 
which the fees m this leg1slat10n are related, is July 1, 2023, and 
Whereas, the fees should be m place when those prov1s10ns become effective, and 
Whereas, m the Judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency w1thm 
the meanmg of the Constitution of Mame and reqmre the followmg legislation as 
unmediately necessary for the preservation of the pub he peace, health and safety, now, 
therefoi e,' 
Amend the bill m Part Am sect10n 8 m §367 m the first mdented paragraph m the 3rd 
lme (page 3, lme 29 m L D) by strikmg out the followmg "deadline" and msertmg the 
followmg 'appropriate deadlme provided m article 2' 
Amend the bill m Part A by msertmg after sect10n 10 the followmg 
'Sec. A-11. 21-A MRSA §692, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c 253, §30, 1s 
further amended to read 
2. Wnte-m vote. If the voter wIShes to vote for a write-m candidate, the voter must 
write the name of the candidate m the blank space provided at the end ofthe hst ofnommees 
for the office m q-uest10n next to the write-m md1cator The voter must then mark the eallet 
write-m md1cator as mstructed m the d1-Feet10ns on the ballot to mdicate a vote for the write-
m candidate A sticker may not be used to vote for a write-m candidate 
) 
Sec. A-12. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§2, 1C, as amended by PL 2009, c 253, §32, 
1s further amended to read 
Page I - 131LR0452(02) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to SP 809, L D 1980 
C If a voter marks a wnte-m mdicator for an office, but does not wnte the name of a 
declared wnte-m candidate m the blank space provided to the nght of next to the wnte-
m mdicator, that vote for that office may not be counted, unless a determmation of 
ch01ce under subsection 4 is possible ' 
Amend the bill m Part A m section 18 m the first mdented paragraph m the 5th, 6th 
and 7th Imes (page 5, Imes 12 to 14 m L D) by stnkmg out the followmg "Ifno sworn law 
enforcement officers are available to conduct the retrieval, the Secretary of State may use 
a contracted couner to provide these services " 
Amend the bill m Part A by stnkmg out all of section 19 and msertmg the followmg 
'Sec. A-19. 21-A MRSA §737-A, 2nd 1, as amended by PL 2019, c 371, §29, is 
further amended to read 
The Secretary of State shall store and mamtam exclusive control over the ballots and 
other matenals pendmg and durmg the recount and until the eouner, sworn law 
enforcement officers or the State Pohce 1f requested, retrie:11es retlieve the matenals for 
return to the mumcipahties ' 
Amend the bill m Part A by stnkmg out all of section 20 and msertmg the followmg 
'Sec. A-20. 21-A MRSA §737-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c 371, §30, is 
further amended to read 
1. Deposit for leg1slahve or smgle county office recount. This subsection applies to 
a recount for an election for the office of State Senat01 or State Rep1 esentat1ve or f01 a 
cmmty office that does not encompass more than one county All deposits reqmred by this 
sect10n must be made with the Secietary of State when a recount is requested by a losmg 
candidate or an undeclared wnte-m candidate Once the eouner, sworn law enforcement 
officers or the State Pohce 1f requested, has have taken custody of the ballots and other 
election matenals from the mumcipahties, the deposit made by the candidate requestmg 
the recount is forfeited to the State if the resultmg count fails to change the outcome of the 
election If the recount reverses the election, the deposit must be ietumed to the candidate 
requestmg the recount The amount of the deposit is calculated as follows 
A If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulation between the lead mg 
candidate and the iequestmg candidate is 1 5% or less of the total votes cast f01 that 
office, a deposit is not reqmred 
B If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulation between the leadmg 
candidate and the requestmg candidate is more than 1 5% and less than 01 equal to 4% 
of the total votes cast for that office, the deposit 1s $500 
C If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulat10n between the lead mg 
candidate and the requestmg candidate 1s more than 4% and less than or equal to 6% 
of the total votes cast for that office, the deposit is $1,000 
D If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulat10n between the lead mg 
candidate and the requestmg candidate is more than 6% and less than or equal to 8% 
of the total votes cast for that office, the deposit 1s $2,500 
E If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulation between the leadmg 
candidate and the requestmg candidate 1s more than 8% and less than or equal to 10% 
of the total votes cast for that office, the deposit is $5,000 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "h" to SP 809, L D 1980 
F If the percentage difference shown by the official tabulat10n between the leadmg 
candidate and the requestmg candidate is more than 10% of the total votes cast for that 
office, the deposit is $10,000 ' 
Amend the bill m Part A by stnkmg out all of section 21 and msertmg the followmg 
'Sec. A-21. 21-A MRSA §737-A, sub-§1-A, ,r.B, as amended by PL 2019, c 371, 
§31, is further amended to read 
B If the difference shown by the official tabulation between the leadmg candidate and 
the requestmg candidate is more than 1 % of the total votes cast for that office or more 
than 1,000 votes, whichever 1s less, the deposit is $5,000 or 10% of the reasonable 
estimate of the cost to the State of performmg the first stage of the recount, whichever 
is greater After completion of the recount, if the recount has not changed the result of 
the election, the Secretary of State shall calculate the actual cost of the procedure, 
which must be paid by the requestmg candidate If the deposit 1s greate1 than the actual 
cost, the overpayment must be refunded to the candidate If the actual cost 1s greater 
than the deposit, the candidate shall pay the remamder of the actual cost to the State 
Once the eouner, sworn law enforcement officers or the State Police 1f requested, has 
have taken custody of the ballots and other elect10n matenals for the first stage of the 
recount, the deposit made by the candidate requestmg the recount is forfeited to the 
State even 1f the candidate withdraws from the recount before the recount begms If a 
recount reverses the elect10n, the deposit must be returned to the candidate requestmg 
the recount ' 
Amend the bill m Part A by msertmg after sect10n 26 the followmg 
'Sec. A-27. 21-A MRSA §759, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c 538, § 11, 1s 
further amended by enactmg at the end a new last blocked paragraph to read 
The Secretary of State may adopt rules necessary for the mspect1on of absentee ballot 
apphcat1ons and envelopes before they are processed Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are ma10r substantive rules as defined m Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A' 
Amend the bill m Part Am section 29 m subsect10n 3 m the last lme (page 9, hne 39 
m L D ) by msertmg after the followmg "elapsed " the followmg 'The Secretary of State 
may adopt rules necessary for the mspect1on of absentee ballot apphcat10ns and envelopes 
before they are processed Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are ma10r substantive 
rules as defined m Title 5, chapter 375, subchapte1 2-A' 
Amend the bill m Part A by stnkmg out all of section 3 0 
Amend the bill m Part A by msertmg after section 33 the followmg 
'Sec. A-34. 21-A MRSA §905-A, as amended by PL 2021, c 570, §11, 1s furthe1 
amended to read 
§905-A. Public comment on mit1at1ve questions 
No later than 15 busmess days after the Secretary of State issues a written decision 
under section 905, subsection 1 findmg a petition for a drrect m1t1ative to be vahd, the 
Secretary of State shall give pubhc notice of a proposed ballot question for that m1tiat1ve 
by postmg the question on the Secretary of State's pubhcly accessible website 
The 
Secretary of State may also pubhsh notice for one day m newspapers havmg general 
crrculation m the State 
After givmg pubhc notice of the proposed ballot question m 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A "to SP 809,LD 1980 
accordance with this section, the Secretary of State shall provide a 30-day pubhc comment 
period for the purpose of receivmg comments on the content and form of the proposed 
question No later than +o 15 busmess days after receivmg pubhc comments m accordance 
with this sect10n and after review of those comments, the Secretary of State shall write the 
ballot question for the mitiative An aggrieved voter may appeal the final decis10n of the 
Secretary of State under this section usmg the procedures for court review provided for m 
section 905, subsections 2 and 3 ' 
Amend the bill m Part Am section 36 m the 4th lme (page 10, lme 42 m L D) by 
strikmg out the followmg "subsection 5" and msertmg the followmg 'subsect10n 5-B' 
Amend the bill m Part B by msertmg after sect10n 1 the followmg 
'Sec. B-2. 5 MRSA §86, 7th 1, as corrected by RR 2001, c 2, Pt B, §2 and affected 
by §58, is amended to read 
For filmg, copymg, comparmg or authenticatmg any document reqmred or penmtted 
to be filed under Title 13-B, that fee specified m Title 13-B, chapter 14, and 
Sec. B-3. 5 MRSA §86, 8th 1, as amended by PL 2003, c 518, § 1, is further 
amended to read 
For filmg a federal tax hen or other federal hens, certificates or notices affectmg the 
hens of which under any Act of Congress or any federal regulation are reqmred or penmtted 
to be filed under Title 33, chapter 39, that fee specified m Title 33, sect10n 1906-.,_ 
Sec. B-4. 5 MRSA §86, 9th 1, as enacted by PL 2003, c 149, § 1, is amended to 
read 
For filmg and recordmg a designated office for service of trustee process under Title 
14, sect10n 2608-A, $25-.,_ 
Sec. B-5. 5 MRSA §86, as amended by PL 2003, c 518, § 1, is further amended by 
enactmg after the 9th paragraph a new paragraph to read 
For filmg a new or renewal apphcation for a mamage officiant license under sect10n 
90-G, $25, and 
Sec B-6. 5 MRSA §86, as amended by PL 2003, c 518, § 1, is further amended by 
enactmg at the end a new paragraph to read 
For filmg a new or renewal apphcation for approval to be a provider of commumcatlon 
technology used to perfonn remote or electromc notanzat10n under Title 4, section 1915, 
$250 
Sec. B-7. Effective date. This Part takes effect July 1, 2023 ' 
Amend the bill by addmg before the summary the followmg 
'Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited m the preamble, this legislat10n 
takes effect when approved, except as otherwise mdicated ' 
Amend the bill by relettermg or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to SP 809, L D 1980 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the unammous report of the committee, adds an emergency 
preamble and clause to the bill and makes the followmg other changes 
It removes the provision allowmg the Secretary of State to use a contracted courier 
for the secure retrieval of ballots pnor to a recount 
It allows the Secretary of State to adopt maJor substantive rules related to the 
mspection of absentee ballot applications and envelopes before they are processed 
It removes the prov1S1on allowmg the Secretary of State to adopt rules related to the 
conduct of regular absentee votmg 
It changes the penod of time after receivmg public comments on the content and 
form of a proposed ballot question for a direct m1tiative that the Secretary of State must 
wnte the ballot question for the mitiat1ve from 10 days, as provided m current law, to 15 
busmess days 
It provides for a fee of $25 for fihng a new or renewal apphcation for a mamage 
officiant hcense 
It provides for a fee of $250 for filmg a new or renewal apphcat10n fo1 approval to 
be a provider of commumcat1on technology used to perform remote or electromc 
notarization 
It makes other necessary technical changes 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved 06/17 /23 ;:0'ae. 
LD 1980 
LR452(02) 
An Act to Improve Eleen.on Laws and Notarial Laws 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'f {s-31.A?) 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
Fiscal Note Reqmred: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Mmor cost mcrease - General Fund 
Any addit10nal costs to the Department of Secretary of State associated with this legislation can be absorbed withm 
existmg budgeted resources 
LR0452(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1