Hammer v. Secretary of State

2010 ME 109, 8 A.3d 700, 2010 Me. LEXIS 113, 2010 WL 4273929

• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
• Decided: October 28, 2010
• Docket: Docket: Pen-10-582
• Status: Published

Opinions

GORMAN, J.

[¶ 1] Alex Hammer appeals from a decision of the Superior Court (Penobscot County, Murphy, J.) affirming a decision of the Secretary of State denying Hammer gubernatorial ballot access based on his failure to obtain a sufficient number of certified signatures pursuant to 21-A M.R.S. § 354 (2009). Hammer challenges the Secretary of State’s interpretation of section 354 to preclude the submission of nomination petitions by electronic means.¹ We affirm the judgment.

[¶2] Alex Hammer sought to be included on Maine’s November 2010 ballot as a non-party candidate for governor. He also sought to present the necessary petitions containing voter signatures through electronic means. The Secretary of State invalidated several hundred signatures on Hammer’s nomination petitions based on the Secretary’s interpretation of section 354 to require the presentation of original signatures, and therefore to preclude the submission of petitions for municipal certification by electronic means. We review directly the decision of the Secretary of State for “findings not supported by the evidence, errors of law, or abuse of discretion.” Knutson v. Dep’t of Sec’y of State, 2008 ME 124, ¶ 8, 954 A.2d 1054, 1058.

[¶ 3] The Superior Court had the benefit of the administrative filings and briefing from Hammer and the Secretary.² It issued a judgment containing a thorough review of Hammer’s contentions, along with a comprehensive and well-reasoned decision detailing the statutory interpretation leading to its conclusion that section 354 does require potential candidates to present the original nomination petitions, and thus bars them from presenting their petitions electronically.

[¶ 4] Notwithstanding our direct review of the Secretary of State’s decision, we agree with the Superior Court’s determination that “the Secretary correctly interpreted the language of 21-A M.R.S. § 354 according to its plain language.... ” Given the fact that the Superior Court issued a judgment addressing the factual and procedural background and a comprehensive analysis of the statutory interpretation required in this matter, we do not repeat that presentation herein. Rather, in this expedited proceeding, we append the judgment of the Superior Court. See Sephton v. FBI, 442 F.3d 27, 29-30 (1st Cir.2006) (“When a lower court produces a comprehensive, well-reasoned decision, an appellate court should refrain from writing at length to no other end than to hear its own words resonate.” (quotation marks omitted)).

The entry is:

Judgment affirmed.

1 . Although, pursuant to 21-A M.R.S. § 356 (2009), there may be a colorable issue of the timeliness of Hammer’s appeals both to the Superior Court and to us, because the Secretary of State does not challenge the appeal on that basis, we reach the merits of Hammer’s contentions in these unique circumstances.

2 . Notwithstanding procedural assistance and explicit directions from the Clerk of the Law Court and the Attorney General’s Office, Hammer failed to file a brief in this Court in support of his appeal.