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An Act To Amend the Election Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §111, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 387, §1, is further amended to read:
 
5. Enrollment.   The person must be enrolled in a party in that municipality to vote at that party's caucus, convention or primary election, unless otherwise permitted by the party pursuant to section 340.
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §144, first ¶, as amended by PL 2001, c. 310, §7, is further amended to read:
A voter may change the voter's enrollment anytime after 3 months from the date on which the voter enrolled by filing an application with the registrar personally, by mail or otherwise, except that a voter may not file an application to change enrollment on the day of a primary election.
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §144, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 453, §26, is further amended to read:
 
1. Content of application.   The application must contain the following information: Name of applicant, the date of birth, residence address, voting district, name of party in which enrolled, name of party in which enrollment is requested, signature of the applicant and the date of application.
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §145, first ¶, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 161, §6, is amended to read:
A voter may withdraw histhe voter's enrollment anytime after 3 months from the date on which hethe voter enrolled by filing a written request with the registrar, except that a voter may not file an application to withdraw enrollment on the day of a primary election.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §311, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 387, §3, is further amended to read:
 
1. Call.   The caucus may be called by the chair or a majority of the members of the municipal committee of a political party. If the municipal committee fails to call a caucus, the county committee may call the caucus. At the request of that committee municipal officers shall provide available space in a public building for a caucus. The municipality may not charge a rental fee or janitorial service fee for the available space, but may require the committee to provide proof of liability insurance. A municipality may hold its caucus outside the municipality if several municipalities elect to meet on a consolidated basis or if the committee calling the caucus determines that a facility outside the municipality is more suitable.
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §340, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 423, §3, is repealed.
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §431, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 474, §4, is amended to read:
 
2. Eligible voter.   Notwithstanding section 340, subsection 1, onlyOnly a voter who is enrolled in a party may vote in the party's presidential primary election.
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶D, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §24, is further amended to read:
 
D. At the end of the list of candidates for each office that has a declared write-in candidate pursuant to section 722-A, there must be left as many blank spaces as there are vacancies to be filled. These spaces may be used by a voter to write in the name of a person for whom the voter desires to vote, as provided in section 691, subsection 2 for a primary election or section 692, subsection 2 for a general election.
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §691, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §29, is further amended to read:
 
2. Write-in vote.   If the voter wishes to vote for a write-in candidate who has filed a declaration pursuant to section 722-A, the voter must write the name of the candidate in the blank space provided at the end of the list of candidates for nomination to the office in question. The voter must then mark the ballot as instructed in the directions on the ballot to indicate a vote for the write-in candidate. A sticker may not be used to vote for a write-in candidate.
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §32, is further amended to read:
 
E. If a voter writes in a write-in space the name of a person who has not filed a declaration of write-in candidacy as provided by section 722-A, the vote for that office may not be counted except in accordance with section 737-A, subsection 2-A.
Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §723, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §38, is further amended to read:
 
A. A write-in candidate who complies with either section 722-A or section 737-A, subsection 2-A and who fulfills the other qualifications under section 334, may be nominated at the primary election if that person receives a number of valid write-in votes equal to at least twice the minimum number of signatures required under section 335, subsection 5, on a primary petition for a candidate for that office.
Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §723, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §39, is further amended to read:
 
2. Other elections.   In any other election, the person who receives a plurality of the votes cast for election to any office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that office, is elected to that office, except that a write-in candidate must also comply with either section 722-A or section 737-A, subsection 2-A.
Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 534, §20, is further amended to read:
 
5. Alternate method of balloting by residents of certain licensed facilities.   The municipal clerk shall designate one or more timestime during the 30-day period prior to an election during which the municipal clerk shall be present in each licensed nursing home subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 405; licensed level IV residential care facility subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 1664; and licensed assisted housingliving program with more than 6 beds subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 1664, in the municipality for the purpose of conducting absentee voting by residents of these facilities. The licensed residential care facilities or assisted housing programs referred to in this subsection are those that are licensed to have 6 or more beds. The clerk shall designate which areas in these facilities constitute the voting place, the voting booth and the guardrail enclosure. Sections 681 and 682 apply to voting in these facilities within the areas designated by the clerk. As used in this subsection, "level IV residential care facility" means a residential care facility as defined by Title 22, section 7852, subsection 14 that has a licensed capacity of more than 6 residents.
Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §902, as amended by PL 2011, c. 342, §31, is further amended to read:
§ 902.Verification and certification
The verification and certification of the petition as required by the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 20, must be worded so that a single verification or certification may cover one or more pages fastened together as a single petition.
The petitions must be signed, verified and certified in the same manner as are nonparty nomination petitions under section 354, subsections 3 and 4 and subsection 7, paragraphs A and C. The circulator of a petition must sign the petition and verify the petition by oath or affirmation as described in section 354, subsection 7, paragraph A prior to submitting the petition to the registrarbefore a notary public or other person authorized by law to administer oaths or affirmations that the circulator personally witnessed all of the signatures to the petition and that to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that each signature authorized under section 153-A was made by the authorized signer in the presence and at the direction of the voter. After administering the oath to the circulator, the notary public or other authorized person must sign the notarial certificate on the petition while in the presence of the circulator. After the petition is signed and verified in this manner, it may be submitted to the municipal registrar for certification in accordance with the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 20. If the petitions submitted to the registrar are not signed and verified in accordance with this paragraph, the registrar may not certify the petitions and is required only to return the petitions. The clerk or registrar shall keep a log of petitions submitted to the municipal office for verification. The log must contain the title of the petition, the name of the person submitting the petition, the date of submission, the number of petition forms submitted and the date and manner by which the petitions were returned. The notary public or other authorized person who administered the oath to the circulator must keep a log of petitions for which that person administered the circulator's oath, listing the title of the petition, the name of the circulator taking the oath, the date of the oath and the number of petition forms signed and verified by the circulator that day.
Sec. 15. 30-A MRSA §757, sub-§2, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 2013, c. 481, §2, is amended to read:
 
A. District 1 consists of Isle au Haut, Matinicus Isle Plantation, North Haven, St. George and, Friendship and the unorganized territory of Criehaven and elects one member. The initial term for District 1 expires on December 31, 2016.
Sec. 16. 30-A MRSA §2528, sub-§4, ¶C, as amended by PL 1993, c. 608, §6, is further amended to read:
 
C. Completed nomination papers or certificates of political caucus nomination must be filed with the clerk during business hours by the 45th70th day prior to election day. They must be accompanied by the written consent of the person proposed as a candidate agreeing:
 
(1) To accept the nomination if nominated;
 
(2) Not to withdraw; and
 
(3) If elected at the municipal election, to qualify as such municipal officer.
 
When these papers and certificates are filed, the clerk shall make them available to public inspection under proper protective regulations. The clerk shall keep them in the office for 6 months.
 
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the election laws.
1. It prohibits a voter from filing an application to change or withdraw party enrollment on the day of a primary election.
2. It clarifies that a municipality may not charge a rental fee or janitorial service fee to a municipal party committee for an available public building provided for the biennial municipal caucus.
3. It repeals the provision allowing a party to designate who can participate in the party's primary other than party members.
4. It removes the requirement for the state ballots to include a write-in space after the list of candidates for an office, unless there is a write-in candidate who has filed a declaration for that office.
5. It adds a requirement for a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths to keep a log for the purpose of recording information about the direct initiative or people's veto petitions on which the notary public has administered the circulator's oath and clarifies that the notary public must sign the circulator's oath immediately after the circulator has signed the petition in the notary's presence.
6. It corrects an omission in the districts for the Knox County budget committee.
7. It clarifies the types of licensed facilities at which municipal clerks are required to conduct absentee voting for the residents prior to an election.
8. It moves the filing deadline for municipal nomination petitions from the 45th day to the 70th day prior to the election.