The Maine petition to put Americans Elect on the 2012 ballot has enough valid signatures, according to the Secretary of State. This is probably the 2nd toughest petition drive that Americans Elect has completed so far. The number of signatures is very large, and no one can sign unless he or she is a registered voter but not a registered member of any of the three qualified parties. The requirement is 28,639 signatures, 5% of the 2010 gubernatorial vote total. Because the deadline is so early, the signatures had to be gathered in the autumn and early part of the winter.
The only other party that ever completed this Maine party petition was the Reform Party, in 1995.
Americans Elect won’t be ballot-qualified in Maine, despite this petition success, until it holds a town caucus in at least 14 of the 16 counties. UPDATE: Americans Elect needs a town caucus in all 16 counties. Although the law was changed in 2011 to reduce the number of counties, the law only affects parties that were already on the ballot in the preceding election, an obvious equal protection violation.
Every election is new — THE super obvious blatant equal protection violation.
BUT – much too difficult for MORON lawyers and judges to understand.
Richard,
What are the requirements of a town caucus? If one person shows up in each county does that do it?
I’m not sure. Maybe someone in Maine will chime in and tell us.
check this: http://lwvme.org/elections.html#Caucuses
Additionally, you MIGHT want to source this press release. Multiple calls to the Maine Secretary of States office, and they would NOT confirm.
additionally, given the recent “illegal aliens voted in Maine, and we have to pass photo ID voting laws” stuff that has been going on, I have extremely serious doubts that the SoS office in Maine will EVER approve the Americans Elect “online primary”…no matter how much Eliot Cutler (OneMaine)plans to spend.
The online primary is a private election, not a government election, and thus not within the SoS purview.
@Humongous Try some Tinactin for that brain infection. We’re talking Maine voters in a Presidential election. I for onw, will sign and certify that I WAS LIED TO by the petition gatherers here in Portland. They claimed (and I quote) “It doesn’t matter what party you’re in..you can sign it.”
Further, when asked where they were from in my capacity as a reporter, two different individuals said they were up here from Massachusetts. In order to gather petitions in Maine, you have to be a resident. Thanks for trying out, though, kids.
#8, Maine has no law making it illegal for out-of-staters to circulate the party petition in Maine. The Attorney General of Maine made this clear to the Secretary of State last year, after the Secretary of State told Americans Elect that circulators of that petition must be Maine residents.
Pingback: Americans Elect Petition Approved in Maine | ThirdPartyPolitics.us
Sourcing yourself is…icky. need a towel?
BTW: Wrong again. Want to try for a yahtzee? http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/21-A/title21-Asec903-A.html
and
From Ballotpedia: ” Maine requires that petition circulators are registered to vote in Maine, indirectly requiring them to be residents of the state. Similar laws in other states have been overturned, but the US Supreme Court has yet to rule on the matter. “
#11, the law you link to is only for ballot measures.
Hooray for Maine! Americans Elect represents a revolutionary step toward direct democracy – each person able to weigh in with their views, questions, and nominee suggestions. The more who join in to participate as AE delegates the more likely the eventual candidate will reflect the will and wisdom of the majority. The entrenched party faithful are fearful and suspicious of AE’s potential to usurp their power and authority. This is our chance to bypass the partisan political divide and chose a Presidential ticket that represents citizens before parties.
How come Maine is so devoted to a system that effectively guarantees a two-party oligarchy? I thought Mainers were independent thinkers, cussed, not party hacks.
Maine has the worst ballot access law in the nation concerning how a candidate gets on the primary ballot of a small qualified party. Massachusetts and Maine are the only states that require a mandatory petition for a candidate to get on a primary ballot, and don’t take into consideration how many registered members that party has.
That is why, in Maine, one never sees a Green Party candidate for either house of Congress.
Title 21-A Chapter 5 deals with this: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/21-A/title21-Ach5sec0.html
Specifically section 311 has the rules governing caucuses:
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/21-A/title21-Asec311.html
Bob, the infection is in your brain. And there is no cure.
“We’re talking Maine voters in a Presidential election.”
The online election is a nationwide election and it’s private. Each party decides how it nominates, whether by smoke filled room, primary, or online election.
“I for onw, will sign and certify that I WAS LIED TO by the petition gatherers here in Portland. They claimed (and I quote) “It doesn’t matter what party you’re in..you can sign it.”
A lie implies intentional misrepresentation. In most states that is the case and they probably did not know otherwise. It may also have been a misunderstanding in that a lot of people identify themselves as supporting a party but are registered independent and thus qualified to sign the petition. You seem like the type of person to misunderstand things, Bob.
“Further, when asked where they were from in my capacity as a reporter, two different individuals said they were up here from Massachusetts. In order to gather petitions in Maine, you have to be a resident. Thanks for trying out, though, kids.”
You’re a reporter? Well, now we know what’s wrong with the media. The residency requirement is for ballot initiatives, not new parties.
Of course the residency requirement should be done away with for any petition, but it is especially ridiculous when it comes to qualifying a national party that will be on the ballot in every state. No exceptions!
Fortunately, it already does not apply to party under existing Maine law.
Back to J-school with you, Bob!
As to what is required to happen at a municipal caucus?
The TL;DR version: Not much.
Full version.
“The chair of the municipal committee shall open the caucus. In the chair’s absence, the secretary or any resident voter enrolled in the party may open the caucus. The caucus shall elect a secretary and a chair in that order. The chair of the caucus shall then preside over the caucus and the secretary shall record the proceeding of the caucus. The caucus shall determine its own parliamentary procedure.”
– http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/21-A/title21-Asec311.html
State law also requires there to be a state party convention, and the requirements of the convention are just as limited. Most of the laws concerning caucuses and conventions focuses on how they are announced publicly, and that they do, actually happen.
“Maine has the worst ballot access law in the nation concerning how a candidate gets on the primary ballot of a small qualified party.”
Which is why not being qualified has its advantages along with the usual disadvantages.