§ 21-A §335 — Petition requirements

Maine § 21-A §335

• Jurisdiction: Maine
• Title 21-A: ELECTIONS
• Ch. 5: NOMINATIONS

Text

A primary petition shall be on a form provided by the Secretary of State and is governed by the following provisions.
1.
Content.
A primary petition must contain the name of only one candidate and that candidate's municipality of residence, party, office sought and electoral division. A primary petition may contain as many separate papers as necessary and may contain the candidate's consent required by section 336.
2.
By whom signed.
A primary petition may be signed only by the voters of the electoral division that is to make the nomination and who are either enrolled in the party named in the petition or, if the party so elects, unenrolled. Other signatures are void. A party may elect to allow unenrolled voters to sign nominating petitions following an affirmative vote by the party's state committee to allow unenrolled voters to sign nominating petitions or, for a party without a state committee, through a determination by an authorized representative of the party. A party must file a form with the Secretary of State no later than December 31st in the year before the primary election is to be held, except that, if the party files a certification under section 441 that there is a contest among candidates for nomination as the presidential candidate, a form must be filed no later than simultaneously with that certification. A party must make a single election for all primary elections held in that year.
3.
How signed.
The voter must personally sign that voter's name in such a manner as to satisfy the registrar of that voter's municipality that the voter is a registered voter and enrolled in the party named on the petition. Either the voter or the circulator of the petition must print the voter's name.
4.
Residence.
The voter or the circulator of the petition must write or print the voter's residence address and municipality of registration. Ditto marks are permitted for residence address and municipality of registration only.
5.
Number of signatures required.
Petitions must be signed by the following numbers of voters:
6.
When signed.
Except as provided in subchapter 8, a petition may not be signed before January 1st of the election year in which it is to be used.
7.
Certification of petition.
A primary petition shall be verified and certified as follows.
8.
When filed.
Except as provided in subchapter 8, a primary petition must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State before 5 p.m. on March 15th of the election year in which it is to be used.
9.
Petition validity.
For a candidate to qualify for the ballot, a nomination petition must meet all of the requirements of this section. If the circulator swears an oath or affirmation in accordance with subsection 7, paragraph A that the circulator reasonably believes to be true and accurate at the time the oath or affirmation is sworn and there is no proof of fraud or a knowingly false statement by the circulator, then the voters' signatures that do not meet the requirements of subsection 7, paragraph A may not be counted, but the petition is otherwise valid.

Legislative History

PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW). PL 1987, c. 797, §1 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 362, §1 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 334, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 154, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 459, §§22,23 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 436, §48 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 196, §4 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 453, §§47,48 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 253, §§17, 18 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 474, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 371, §10 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 445, §§1-3 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §§41, 42 (COR). PL 2021, c. 273, §5 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 389, §1 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 397, §§18, 19 (AMD).