Elections, Initiatives

Votes on citizen initiatives since 1911

The state constitution allows citizens to place issues on the statewide ballot by petition. In its first thirty-seven years, only six initiated bills qualified to be placed on a ballot; only two passed.

In the thirty-eight years since 1971, when initiatives returned to popularity, fifty-five initiatives have been presented to the voters. A little less than half (47%) have passed.

Twelve initiatives involved taxes or fees. Since the year 2000, eight initiatives have promoted gambling, including casinos; two have passed.

If the legislature does not pass the initiated bill exactly as proposed by the people, it must be placed on a ballot.

The legislature may, however, offer its own “competing” bill to give voters a choice of the initiative, the competing bill, or neither.

According to the Maine Constitution: (Article IV, Part Third, Section 18, 2)

When there are competing bills and neither receives a majority of the votes given for or against both, the one receiving the most votes shall at the next statewide election to be held not less than 60 days after the first vote thereon be submitted by itself if it receives more than 1/3 of the votes given for and against both.

So, if the initiated bill gets 30%, the competing bill gets 30%, and the “neither” option gets 40%, “neither” wins. If the initiated bill or the competing bill gets 51% of the vote, that bill wins.

If the initiated bill gets 38%, and the competing bill get 10%, and “neither” gets 52%, “neither” wins.

If the initiated bill gets 37%, and the competing bill gets 20%, and “neither” gets 43%, then the initiated bill alone is placed on a ballot on the next statewide election, but not within 60 days, to be voted YES or NO.

The results below are based on information from the Elections Division, Department of the Secretary of State. See other types of elections.

Issues divided by competing measures were counted as one initiative. Those in bold were passed. Since 1971 all votes were in November unless otherwise noted.

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Year	Subject	Yes	No
1911	Nomination of state and county officers by primaries (direct primary law)	65,810	21,774
1923	To establish a forty-eight hour week for women and minors	33,991	53,784
1927	To repeal the direct primary law	20,027	37,114
1933	To raise the tax on corporations distributing and supplying electric power	46,015	90,804
1936	To prevent diversion of the federal highway fund	182,012	52,590
1947*	To regulate collective bargaining
1947	Tabb Bill (competing measure)	13,676	126,285
1947	Barlow Bill (direct Initiative)	46,809	126,285
1971	To repeal the income tax	63,393	190,261
1972	To change form of ballot from party column to office type	110,867	64,506
1973	To create Power Authority of Maine	95,645	151,480
1976	To establish a public preserve in Bigelow Mountain area	85,782	81,915
1977	To repeal the Uniform State Property Tax	124,322	95,413
1979	To repeal the forced deposit law (bottle bill)	41,480	226,687
1980	Shall slot the machine ban become law?	60,757	37,406
1980	Prohibit generation of electric power by nuclear fission	161,181	233,198
1981	To create the Maine Energy Commission	90,333	144,647
1982	To adjust annually individual income tax laws to eliminate inflation induced increases	240,023	182,939
1982	To repeal the control of milk prices and the wholesale and retail levels	222,422	232,430
1982	To end the use of nuclear power for producing electricity in 5 years	201,617	256,124
1983	To repeal the hunting season on moose	121,125	185,603
1985	Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Issue (Not a Yes/No vote; rather, a choice of A, B or C)
	A. Do you want the right to vote for or against any plan for the storage or disposal of low-level radioactive waste? (I.B.1, LD 615)	86,678	N/A
	B. Do you want to vote on any Maine site for disposal of low-level radioactive waste if it is not disposed of safely outside of Maine or at the Maine Yankee site?	45,920	N/A
	C. Against both measures	39,893	N/A
1986 June	Do you want to make it a crime to make, sell, give for value, or otherwise promote obscene material in Maine?	81,970	209,537
1986 November	Do you want to ban mandatory local phone service and direct the state to keep flat rate local phone service at as low a cost a possible?	241,894	178,745
1987	Do you want to let any power plant like Maine Yankee operate after July 4,1988, if it makes high level nuclear waste?	235,685	163,375
1989	“Do you favor the changes in Maine Law concerning campaign finances for candidates for Governor, as proposed by citizen petition?”	98,558	126,140
1989	Do you favor stopping cruise missile tests in Maine?	122,820	112,109
1989	“Do you approve of the agreement for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste proposed to be made with the Rocky Mountain Low-Level Radioactive Waste Board whose member states are Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at an existing facility in Beatty, Nevada?” (Referendum Question)	124,618	103,857
1990	“Do you favor the change in Maine Law that would allow all stores a choice to open on Sunday and certain holidays, provided stores in excess of 5000 square feet of selling space do not require their employees to work on such days proposed by citizen petition?”	272,129	246,378
1991	“Do you favor the changes in Maine Law concerning deauthorizing the widening of the Maine turnpike and establishing transportation policy proposed by citizen?”	224,277	156,861
1993	“Do you favor the changes in Maine law concerning limiting the number of terms which may be served by Maine’s State Legislators, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General and State Auditor proposed by citizen petition?”	159,785	76,732
1994	“Do you favor the changes in Maine law limiting the number of terms which may be served by Maine’s Representatives to the United States Senate proposed by citizen petition?”	312,007	182,192
1995	“Do you favor the changes in Maine law limiting protected classifications, in future state and local laws to race, color sex, physical or mental disability, religion age, ancestry, national origin, familial status, and marital status, and repealing existing laws which expand these classifications as proposed by citizen petition?”	193,938	221,562
1996	“Do you want Maine to require candidates and officials to show support for Congressional term limits or have their refusal printed on the ballot?”	318,119	225,620
1996	2A: Citizen Initiative “Do you want Maine to ban clearcutting and set other new logging standards?”	175,078**	N/A
	2B: Competing Measure “Do you want the Compact for Maine’s Forests to become law to promote sustainable forest management practices throughout the State?”	282,620**	N/A
	2C: Against A and B Against both the Citizen Initiative and the Competing Measure.	139,176	N/A
1996	“Do you want Maine to adopt new campaign finance laws and give public funding to candidates for state office who agree to spending limits?”	320,755	250,185
1997	“Do you want to reject the law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation with respect to jobs, housing, public accommodations and credit?”	145,452	138,153
1999	“Do you want to ban a specific abortion procedure to be defined in law, except in cases where the life of the mother is in danger?”	185,541	232,113
1999	“Do you want to allow patients with specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for treatment, as long as such use is approved by a doctor?”	256,387	161,114
2000	“Should a terminally ill adult who is of sound mind be allowed to ask for and receive a doctor’s help to die?”	315,031	332,280
2000	“Do you favor requiring  landowners to obtain a permit for all clear-cuts and defining cutting levels for lands subject to the Tree Growth Tax Law?”	181,643	459,239
2000	“Do you want to allow video lottery machines at certain horse racing tracks if 40% of the profits are used for property tax relief?”	253,920	387,872
2003	A. Do you want the State to pay 55% of the cost of public education, which includes all special education costs, for the purpose of shifting costs from the property tax to state resources?B. Do you want to lower property taxes and avoid the need for a significant increase in state taxes by phasing in a 55% state contribution to the cost of public education and by providing expanded property tax relief? C. Against both the Citizen Initiative and the Competing Measure.    ***	A. 185,392 B. 171,782 C. 133,349
2003	Do you want to allow slot machines at certain commercial horse racing tracks if part of the proceeds are used to lower prescription drug costs for the elderly and disabled, and for scholarships to the state universities and technical colleges?	272,394	242,490
2003	Do you want to allow a casino to be run by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation if part of the revenue is used for state education and municipal revenue sharing?	170,500	346,583
2004	Do You Want the State to Pay 55% of the Cost of Public Education, which Includes All Special Education Costs, for the Purpose of Shifting Costs from the Property Tax to State Resources?	99,764	81,347
2004	Do You Want to Limit Property Taxes to 1% of the Assessed Value of the Property?	271,636	458,369
2004	Do You Want to Make it a Crime to Hunt Bears with Bait, Traps or Dogs, except to Protect Property, Public Safety or for Research?	344,322	389,455
2006	Do You Want to Limit Increases in State and Local Government Spending to the Rate of Inflation Plus Population Growth and to Require Voter Approval for All Tax and Fee Increases?	247,175	288,971
2007	Do you want to allow a Maine tribe to run a harness racing track with slot machines and high-stakes beano games in Washington County?”	130,164	142,458
2008	Do you want to allow a certain Maine company to have the only casino in Maine, to be located in Oxford County, if part of the revenue is used to fund specific state programs?	333,685	389,251
2009	Do you want to cut the rate of the municipal excise tax by an average of 55% on motor vehicles less than six years old and exempt hybrid and other alternative-energy and highly fuel-efficient motor vehicles from sales tax and three years of excise tax?	145,610	416,714
2009	Do you want to repeal the 2007 law on school district consolidation and restore the laws previously in effect?	228,952	320,334
2009	Do you want to change the existing formulas that limit state and local government spending and require voter approval by referendum for spending over those limits and for increases in state taxes?	223,059	336,144
2009	Do you want to change the medical marijuana laws to allow treatment of more medical conditions and to create a regulated system of distribution?	332,038	232,024
2010	Do you want to allow a casino with table games and slot machines at a single site in Oxford County, subject to local approval, with part of the profits going to specific state, local and tribal programs?	284,984	280,211
2011	Do you want to allow a casino with table games and slot machines in Lewiston, with part of the profits going to support specific state and local programs?	143,127	248,467
2011	Do you want to allow a slot machine facility at a harness racing track in Biddeford or another community within 25 miles of Scarborough Downs, subject to local approval, and at a harness racing track in Washington County, with part of the profits from these facilities going to support specific state and local programs?	176,718	215,115
2012	Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?	372,887	334,723
2014	Do you want to ban the use of bait, dogs or traps in bear hunting except to protect property, public safety, or for research?	281,717	323,007
2015	Do you want to change Maine law to allow publicly financed state candidates to qualify for additional funds under certain limits and rules in the Maine Clean Election Act, to improve the disclosure of who pays for political ads, and to increase penalties for violations of campaign finance law?	119,992	98,343
2016	Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?	381,647	377,574
2016	Do you want to add a 3% tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to create a state fund that would provide direct support for student learning in kindergarten through 12th grade public education?	388,428	373,848