Maine Question 3, Public Campaign Financing Measure (1996)
| Maine Question 3 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Election date | |
| Topic Campaign finance | |
| Status
| |
| Type Indirect initiated state statute | Origin |
Maine Question 3 was on theballot as anindirect initiated state statute inMaine onNovember 5, 1996. It wasapproved.
A"yes" votesupported enacting the Maine Clean Election Act, which would provide for gubernatorial and state legislative candidates to choose to have their campaigns publicly funded. |
A"no" voteopposed enacting the Maine Clean Election Act, which would provide for gubernatorial and state legislative candidates to choose to have their campaigns publicly funded. |
Election results
Maine Question 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 320,755 | 56.18% | ||
| No | 250,185 | 43.82% | ||
- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 3 was as follows:
| “ | Do you want Maine to adopt new campaign finance laws and give public funding to candidates for state office who agree to spending limits? | ” |
Path to the ballot
Anindirect initiated state statute is acitizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Maine, thenumber of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 10% of the total votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election prior to the filing of such petition. As an indirect process, theLegislature has until the end of the legislative session to approve the initiative after signatures are certified. If the legislature approves the initiative and the governor approves it, the measure becomes law. If the legislature does not approve the initiative, or if the governor vetoes the measure, it goes to voters for approval. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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