Opinion ID: 2349660
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Statutory History Of Primary Elections And Recounts In Maine

Text: [¶ 9] From 1913 to 1961, separate statutes governed recounts in general and primary elections. The statute governing general elections specifically limited the Governor and the Executive Council's role in recounts in elections to the Legislature. See R.S. ch. 7, § 53 (1916); R.S. ch. 8, § 55 (1930); R.S. ch. 5, § 50 (1944); R.S. ch. 5, § 50 (1954). The role of the Governor and the Executive Council was limited to the examination and correction of returns. They had no authority to decide whether any ballots cast in an election of a Representative to the Legislature shall be counted or rejected. Opinion of the Justices, 143 Me. 417, 422, 88 A.2d 151, 154 (1948). [¶ 10] The statute governing recounts in primary elections, however, did not include the same limitation on the authority of the Governor and the Executive Council. See P.L. 1913, ch. 221, § 16; R.S. ch. 7, § 16 (1930); R.S. ch. 4, § 30 (1944); R.S. ch. 4, § 31 (1954). Thus, in primary elections, even those primary elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Governor and Council made the final determinations in recounts. Id.; see also Opinion of the Justices, 124 Me. 453, 470, 126 A. 354 (1924) ([The Governor and Council] are made by the Legislature the tribunal to pass upon the results in primary elections....). [¶ 11] In 1961, the provisions governing recounts in all elections, primary and general, were combined. P.L. 1961, ch. 360, §§ 127-132. After a recount, a candidate could appeal to the Governor and the Council, provided that: This subsection does not apply where final determination of the election of a candidate is governed by the State or Federal Constitution. Id. § 127(IV)(A). Therefore, jurisdiction of the Governor and the Council to decide recount disputes was limited only by the Constitution, which, as discussed above, grants exclusive jurisdiction over general election disputes to the Legislature. Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 3. [¶ 12] In 1975, when the Executive Council was abolished, the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices was given the jurisdiction to handle recounts. P.L. 1975, ch. 621, §§ 1421-1424. Initially, the Commission had jurisdiction to make a final determination in election disputes when the Federal and Maine Constitutions permitted, and was charged with submitting its findings of fact and opinion to the body vested with final determination powers in all other elections. Id. § 1423(3). The same Legislature amended section 1421, P.L. 1975, ch. 759, §§ 2-4, and subsequently, the Commission made findings of fact and opinion on the final determination of election results in primary, general and special elections for county, state or federal offices, id. § 2. If the disputed election was an election for governor, legislator, or a federal office, the Commission was to submit its findings of fact and opinion to the body vested with final determination powers. Id. § 4(A). In all other elections, the Commission was to submit its findings of fact and opinion to the Governor, who was then charged with making a final determination. Id. § 4(B), (C). [¶ 13] Thus, the Legislature has consistently made a distinction between primary and general elections when determining what body has jurisdiction over final recount determinations.