Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 354 – Petition requirements
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A nomination petition shall be on a form provided by the Secretary of State and is governed by the following provisions. [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
1. Content. A nomination petition must contain the name of only one candidate, the candidate’s municipality of residence, the office sought and electoral division. A nomination petition may contain as many separate papers as necessary and may contain the candidate’s consent required by section 355. It may also contain the candidate’s political designation. This designation may not exceed 3 words in length, may not incorporate the candidate’s name or the designation or an abbreviation of the designation of a party that is qualified to nominate candidates by primary election and may not consist of or comprise language that is obscene, contemptuous, profane or prejudicial, promotes abusive or unlawful activity or violates any other provision of the laws of this State with respect to names. A candidate who intends to form a new party about that person’s candidacy must use the proposed party’s designation.
A. When 2 United States Senators are to be nominated, the nomination petition must contain the term of office sought by the candidate. [PL 2019, c. 371, §11 (AMD).]
B. The names of presidential electors must be placed on the petition as a slate. The names of the candidates for President and Vice President must be placed on a petition for the nomination of presidential electors. [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
[PL 2023, c. 389, §3 (AMD).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 354
- Candidate: means any person who has filed a petition under either sections 335 and 336 or sections 354 and 355 and has qualified as a candidate by either procedure, or any person who has received contributions or made expenditures or has given consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures with the intent of qualifying as a candidate. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Central voter registration system: means a single electronic information system and database for voter registration information maintained by the Secretary of State and used by all municipal jurisdictions in the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- County office: means the office of judge of probate, register of probate, county treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff, district attorney or county commissioner. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Election year: means the calendar year within which a particular election is held. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Electoral division: means an area set off for election purposes. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- may: when used in this Title, is used in a permissive sense to grant authority or permission, but not to create duty, to act in the manner specified by the context. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 7
- Municipality: means a city, town or plantation. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- Oath: includes an affirmation, when affirmation is allowed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Party: means a political organization which has qualified to participate in a primary or general election under chapter 5. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Primary election: means the regular election for the election of nominees of a party for the general election. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Registrar: means the registrar or deputy registrar of voters of a municipality. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Residence: means that place where the person has established a fixed and principal home to which the person, whenever temporarily absent, intends to return. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Residence address: means the street and number or other designation indicating the physical location of a person's residence. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Signature: includes a signature stamp and a signature written by another registered voter on behalf of an individual in accordance with the procedure set forth in section 153?A and, for an individual who is unable to sign that individual's own name, a mark. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Voter: means a person registered to vote. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
2. By whom signed. A nomination petition may be signed only by voters of the electoral division which is to make the nomination, except that nomination petitions for presidential electors may be signed by any Maine voter. Other signatures are void.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
3. How signed. The voter must personally sign that voter’s name in such a manner as to satisfy the registrar of that voter’s municipality that the voter is a registered voter. Either the voter or the circulator of the petition must print the voter’s name.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §46 (COR).]
4. Residence. The voter or the circulator of the petition must write or print the voter’s residence address and municipality of registration. Ditto marks are permitted for residence address and municipality of registration only.
[PL 2005, c. 453, §49 (AMD).]
5. Number of signatures required. Nomination petitions must be signed by the following numbers of voters:
A. For a slate of candidates for the office of presidential elector, at least 4,000 and not more than 5,000 voters; [PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD).]
B. For a candidate for Governor, at least 4,000 and not more than 5,000 voters; [PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD).]
C. For a candidate for United States Senator, at least 4,000 and not more than 5,000 voters; [PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD).]
D. For a candidate for United States Representative, at least 2,000 and not more than 2,500 voters; [PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD).]
E. For a candidate for county office other than county commissioner or county charter commission member, at least 300 and not more than 400 voters; [PL 1991, c. 362, §2 (AMD).]
E-1. For a candidate for county commissioner, at least 100 and not more than 150 voters; [PL 1991, c. 362, §3 (NEW).]
F. For a candidate for State Senator, at least 200 and not more than 300 voters; [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
G. For a candidate for State Representative, at least 50 and not more than 80 voters; and [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
H. For a candidate for county charter commission member, at least 50 and not more than 80 voters. [PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
[PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD).]
6. When signed. A nomination petition may not be signed before January 1st of the election year in which it is to be used.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
7. Certification of petitions. A nomination petition shall be verified and certified as follows.
A. The circulator of a nomination petition shall verify by oath or affirmation before a notary public or other person authorized by law to administer oaths or affirmations that the circulator personally witnessed all of the signatures to the petition and that to the best of the circulator’s knowledge and belief each signature is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; each signature authorized under section 153?A was made by the authorized signer in the presence and at the direction of the voter; and each person is a resident of the electoral division named in the petition. [PL 2009, c. 253, §20 (AMD).]
B. Petitions must be delivered to the registrar, or clerk at the request or upon the absence of the registrar, for certification by 5 p.m. on May 25th in the election year in which the petitions are to be used, except that petitions for a slate of candidates for the office of presidential elector must be delivered for certification by 5 p.m. on July 25th in the election year in which the petitions are to be used. [PL 2013, c. 131, §12 (AMD).]
C. The registrar, or clerk at the request or upon the absence of the registrar, of each municipality concerned shall certify which names on a petition appear in the central voter registration system as registered voters in that municipality and may not certify any names that do not satisfy subsection 3. [PL 2005, c. 453, §50 (AMD).]
[PL 2013, c. 131, §12 (AMD).]
8. Filed with the Secretary of State.
[PL 1985, c. 383, §7 (RP).]
8-A. Filed with the Secretary of State. A nomination petition must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State by 5 p.m. on June 1st in the election year in which it is to be used, except that petitions for a slate of candidates for the office of presidential elector must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State by 5 p.m. on August 1st in the election year in which the petitions are to be used.
[PL 2013, c. 131, §13 (AMD).]
9. Petition validity. For a candidate to qualify for the ballot, a nomination petition must meet all of the requirements of this section. If the circulator swears an oath or affirmation in accordance with subsection 7, paragraph A that the circulator reasonably believes to be true and accurate at the time the oath or affirmation is sworn and there is no proof of fraud or a knowingly false statement by the circulator, then the voters’ signatures that do not meet the requirements of subsection 7, paragraph A may not be counted, but the petition is otherwise valid.
[PL 2009, c. 253, §21 (RPR).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW). PL 1985, c. 383, §§7,8 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 614, §§14,15 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 362, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 459, §§26-28 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 436, §50 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 264, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 447, §12 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 196, §5 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 453, §§49,50 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 455, §14 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 253, §§ 20, 21 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 131, §§12, 13 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 371, §11 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §46 (COR). PL 2021, c. 273, §6 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 389, §3 (AMD).