§903-A. Circulation

Petitions issued under this chapter may be circulated by any Maine resident who is a registered voter acting as a circulator of a petition. A circulator of a petition solicits signatures for the petition by presenting the petition to the voter, asking the voter to sign the petition and personally witnessing the voter affixing the voter's signature to the petition. The circulator of the petition must comply with the provisions of section 902.   [PL 2015, c. 99, §1 (AMD).]

1.  Filing.

[PL 2007, c. 234, §5 (RP).]

2.  Invalid petition.

[PL 2007, c. 234, §5 (RP).]

3.  Information to circulators.  An applicant for a direct initiative or a people's veto referendum pursuant to section 901 shall provide to each person who will be circulating petitions a copy of the laws and rules governing the circulation of petitions for a direct initiative or people's veto as provided by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall provide a copy of the laws and rules governing the circulation of petitions for a direct initiative or people's veto when an approved petition form is provided to an applicant for a direct initiative or people's veto referendum. The copy of the laws and rules provided by the Secretary of State may also include comments that may aid in the comprehension of those laws and rules.

[PL 2005, c. 575, §1 (NEW).]

4.  Circulator affidavit.  A person who circulates a petition shall execute an affidavit that must include:

A. The circulator's printed name, the physical address at which the circulator resides and the date the circulator signed the affidavit;   [PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

B. That the circulator read the information provided by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection 3 and understands the laws governing the circulation of petitions in the State;   [PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

C. That the circulator was a resident of the State and a registered voter in the State at the time of circulating the petition; and   [PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

D. That the circulator understands that the circulator can be prosecuted under section 904 for violating the laws governing the circulation of petitions, including the requirement that the circulator truthfully executed the affidavit.   [PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

The circulator shall file the affidavit with the Secretary of State at the time the petition is filed.

[PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

5.  Circulator payment.  A person or organization that pays individuals to circulate petitions, other than by reimbursing travel expenses, shall provide a list of those individuals to the Secretary of State along with information indicating the method by which the individuals are being compensated when the petitions are filed pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 17 or 18.

[PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1989, c. 92, §1 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 695, §35 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 695, §38 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 637, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 575, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 234, §5 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 99, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 456, §1 (AMD).