§374-A. Withdrawal of candidates for certain state offices

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;   [PL 2011, c. 342, §12 (AMD).]

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   [PL 2015, c. 447, §12 (AMD).]

C. Dies prior to the general election.   [PL 1989, c. 341, §2 (NEW).]

[PL 2015, c. 447, §12 (AMD).]

2.  Deadline for replacement of nominee.  A political committee may make a replacement nomination:

A. No later than 5 p.m. of the 4th Monday in July preceding the general election for a candidate who has withdrawn in accordance with subsection 1, paragraph A; or   [PL 1993, c. 447, §5 (AMD).]

B. As soon as practicable for a candidate who withdraws or is withdrawn in accordance with subsection 1, paragraph B or C.   [PL 1989, c. 341, §2 (NEW).]

[PL 1993, c. 447, §5 (AMD).]

3.  Deadline for withdrawal.  A candidate for an office on the general election ballot must withdraw at least 70 days before the general election in order for the candidate's name to be removed from the ballot. Less than 70 days before the general election, a candidate may withdraw from the election by providing a written notice to the Secretary of State that the candidate is withdrawing and will not serve if elected. The candidate's name will not be removed from the ballot, but upon receipt of the notice of late withdrawal, the Secretary of State shall instruct the local election officials in the candidate's electoral district to distribute notices with absentee ballots requested after that date and to post a notice at each voting place in the district informing voters that the candidate has withdrawn and that a vote for that candidate will not be counted. Notice of the late withdrawal must also be posted on the Secretary of State's publicly accessible website.

[PL 2015, c. 447, §13 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1989, c. 341, §2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 447, §§4,5 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 310, §24 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 455, §16 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 342, §§12, 13 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 447, §§12, 13 (AMD).