 March 3, 2020 - Presidential Primary and Special State Referendum Election
INFORMATION FROM THE MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE:
March 3, 2020 - Presidential Primary and Special State Referendum Election
Presidential Primary Election
Description of the Presidential Primary Election
The 129th Maine Legislature enacted a Presidential Primary law in 2019 (PL 2019, Chapter 445), for the purpose of allowing Maine voters to designate their preference for the nomination of their party’s candidate.
Special State Referendum Election
Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election PDF Word
A People’s Veto petition was submitted to the Secretary of State on September 18, 2019, to prevent the following law from taking effect on September 19th.
Chapter 154 of the Public Laws of 2019: “An Act To Protect Maine Children and Students from Preventable Diseases by Repealing Certain Exemptions from the Laws Governing Immunization Requirements”
The Secretary of State certified on October 17, 2019 that the petition had enough valid signatures to be voted on at the next statewide election on March 3, 2020.
Question 1: People’s Veto Do you want to reject the new law that removes religious and philosophical exemptions to requiring immunization against certain communicable diseases for students to attend schools and colleges and for employees of nursery schools and health care facilities?
MESSAGE FROM THE MAINE HOUSE REPUBLICANS:
Though March 3rd has received a great amount of coverage around the primary election, it is important to note that Independent Voters can still participate by voting on Question 1 on March 3rd. They are not required to be registered in a party to do so.
Consideration of the People’s Veto of LD 798, removing immunization exemptions based on religious or philosophical beliefs from Maine law, will take place during the Presidential Primary, not during a traditional election involving all Maine voters.
When citizens contacted the Secretary of State for advice before pursuing a People’s Veto of LD 798, he incorrectly told them that should they submit the minimum 63,067 signatures required to place the question on the ballot, the vote would be held during the June 2020 election. After embarking on a long, expensive and arduous process of collecting over 79,000 valid signatures, People’s Veto organizers were shocked and disappointed to learn that a vote on whether to overturn LD 798 would occur during Presidential Primary elections in March of 2020. These types of elections turnout mostly individuals enrolled in a party and unfortunately, little has been done by the Secretary of State to promote that this election will also have a component open to the 372,255 voters not enrolled in either party.
Twelve (12) Democrats are listed on the March 3, 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary ballot. President Donald Trump is unopposed on the Republican ballot.
Rep. Patrick Corey (R- Windham) introduced legislation (LR 2642– An Act To Exempt Citizen Initiatives and People’s Vetoes from Presidential Primary Elections) to correct the mistake made by Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a former member of the House Democrat caucus.
On December 6, 2019, House and Senate Democrat leadership on the Legislative Council voted against the proposal to even consider correcting the mistake. All Republicans supported correcting the mistake in order to promote full participation by Maine 372,255 Independents. The final vote was 6-4, along straight party lines.
We encourage every Maine resident to participate in the election on March 3rd, not only if you belong to a party to vote for your nominee but also to vote on the People's Veto and on any local elections or issues that may be on your municipal ballot.
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