MAINE, USA — Maine voters will decide the fate of eight statewide ballot measures in an election Tuesday, including a proposal to ban foreign influence on elections and another that would dismantle the state’s two largest electric utilities.
Question 2 asks voters to ban foreign governments and entities they “own, control, or influence” from making campaign contributions in candidate elections or ballot measures. The move is in response to the $22 million a Canadian utility called Hydro Quebec spent to influence the outcome of a previous Maine referendum election in which the utility had a financial interest.
Question 3 would shutter two privately owned electric utilities called Central Maine Power and Versant Power and replace them with a nonprofit entity called Pine Tree Power, which would be run by an elected board. Supporters of the proposal have criticized the private utilities for poor performance and high rates. Opponents say the proposal to buy out the existing utilities comes with too high a price tag — $13.5 billion.
"Even though it's an off year, there are some big issues on the ballot," Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said. "There are four constitutional amendments, which have significant consequences."
Secretary Bellows said she knows some of the ballot questions can be confusing and extra help is allowed.
"We always say voting is not a test," Bellows added. "You can bring your iPhone into the voting booth behind the curtain. Don't play any audio or video, but you can look up questions."
Here’s a look at what to expect on election night:
ELECTION DAY
Maine will hold a statewide referendum election on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
The Associated Press and NEWS CENTER Maine will provide coverage for eight statewide ballot measures labeled Questions 1 through 8.
QUESTION 1: Do you want to bar some quasi-governmental entities and all consumer-owned electric utilities from taking on more than $1 billion in debt unless they get statewide voter approval?
QUESTION 2: Do you want to ban foreign governments and entities that they own, control, or influence from making campaign contributions or financing communications for or against candidates or ballot questions?
QUESTION 3: Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?
QUESTION 4: Do you want to require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to owners and independent repair facilities?
QUESTION 5: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the time period for judicial review of the validity of written petitions from within 100 days from the date of filing to within 100 business days from the date of filing of a written petition in the office of the Secretary of State, with an exception for petitions filed within 30 calendar days before or after a general election?
QUESTION 6: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State?
QUESTION 7: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision requiring a circulator of a citizen's initiative or people's veto petition to be a resident of Maine and a registered voter in Maine, requirements that have been ruled unconstitutional in federal court?
QUESTION 8: Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?
WHO GETS TO VOTE
All voters registered in Maine may participate in the election. Voters may register in person on Election Day. The deadline to register by mail was Oct. 17.
DECISION NOTES
The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Maine does not have automatic recounts, but voters can request one for a statewide ballot question by getting at least 200 registered voters to sign a petition within eight business days after the election. The state will pay for the recount if the margin between the yes and the no votes is 1% or less of the total votes cast, or not more than 1,000 votes, whichever is less.
WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE
As of November 2022, there were 1.1 million voters registered in Maine. Of those, 36% are Democrats, 28% are Republicans and 32% are independents. Turnout for the 2021 referendum election was 36% of registered voters. In the 2019 referendum election, it was 18%.
As of Wednesday, more than 56,000 voters had cast ballots before Election Day, 47% from Democrats, 26% from Republicans and 23% from voters not affiliated with any party. In the 2021 referendum election, 27% of the vote was cast before Election Day.
HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?
In the 2022 general election, the AP first reported results at 8:08 p.m. ET, or eight minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 3:22 a.m. ET with about 83% of total votes counted.