The Green Papers: Maine State and Local Government

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Governor:1
Senators: 2 (Electoral Classes 1 and 2)
2020 Census: 1,363,582 (0.41% of 331,797,979
- 2024, 2028 Electors: 4 (0.74% of 538)
- 2022-2030 Representatives: 2 (0.46% of 435)
2010 Census: 1,333,074 (0.43% of 309,785,186)
- 2012, 2016, 2020 Electors: 4 (0.74% of 538)
- 2012-2020 Representatives: 2 (0.46% of 435)
Capital: Augusta

Current Maine Statewide Office Holders

Official Name/Status All States

The STATE of Maine
Status: STATE of the Union
never organized as a Territory: previously, was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Admitted to the Union as a State: 15 March 1820 by an Act of Congress of 3 March 1820 (3 Stat. 544) recognizing a State government already formed
The 23rd state.

Traditional Sections and Regions All States

Section: NORTHEAST
Region: New England
Survey: Metes & Bounds

Constitutions All States Links to State Constitutions

Enabling Act: [Maine never had an Enabling Act: instead, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed enabling legislation of its own- first separating its "District of Maine" from the rest of the State, 19 June 1819- an action approved by the voters in Maine on 19 July 1819 by 17,001 to 7,132; Massachusetts passed a follow-up ordinance officially accepting the fact of Maine's imminent statehood on 25 February 1820, thereby allowing Congress to formally admit Maine as a State]
- 1st (1820-) [Adopted: 29 October 1819 Convention convened, 11 October 1819 (NOTE: on 12 January 1875, the Legislature authorized a Commission to propose such amendments as would update and modernize this Constitution; on 24 February 1875, this Commission proposed 9 amendments to be added to the 1819 Constitution and the 12 amendments thereto adopted prior to 1875: one of these 9 new amendments authorized the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to recodify the 1819 Constitution and amendments ), Ratified: 6 December 1819 ratified by special Town Meetings. (NOTE: The amendments proposed by the 1875 Commission were ratified by the People on 13 September 1875, after which the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court reworked the 1819 Constitution and its now 21 amendments into a newly recodified document: the Legislature accepted this recodification as the official Constitution of Maine on 23 February 1876; however, this 1875/1876 recodification is not generally considered to be a new Constitution per se )]

Executive Branch All States

Chief Executive
- GOVERNOR
Successor to a Vacancy
- President of the State Senate

Major Executive Officers Elected Statewide All States
- Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms. GOVERNOR is the only Statewide elected officer

Legislative Branch All States

Legislature
- LEGISLATURE

Upper House
- Senate
Lower House
- House of Representatives

Judicial Branch All States

Court of Last Resort
- Supreme Judicial Court

Local Government All States

PRIMARY CIVIL DIVISION All States
- county [Type: Weak, Executive and Legislative: Court of Commissioners]
  - MINOR CIVIL DIVISION
    - TOWN [Type: Very Strong, Executive: Board of Selectmen, Legislative: TOWN MEETING]

Key Statewide / Federal Officials All States

Maine Officials

Statutory Election Information All States

Presidential Primary All States
- (2017-2019) "No later than November 1st of the year prior to a presidential election year, the Secretary of State shall set the date of the presidential primary election, which must be held on a Tuesday in March of the year in which a presidential election is held. Whenever the state committee of a party certifies that there is a contest among candidates for nomination as the presidential candidate, the Secretary of State shall consult with the state committee of each party to determine the date of the presidential primary." LD 1673, SP 685 Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA c. 5, sub-c. 7 §431. 1.
- (2019--) "No later than November 1st of the year prior to a presidential election year, the state committee of each party shall certify whether there is a contest among candidates for nomination as the presidential candidate. Upon receiving the certification from one or more parties, the Secretary of State shall announce the parties that will have a presidential primary election, which must be held on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in March of the presidential election year." [LD 1626, SP 523. Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA c. 5, sub-c. 8 §441.1.]
State Primary All States
- 2nd Tuesday of June of each general election year [Title 21-A, Chapter 5, Subchapter 1, section 339]
Polling times All States
- 1. Opening time flexible. The polls must be opened no earlier than 6 a.m. and no later than 9 a.m. on election day; except that in municipalities with a population of less than 4,000, the polls must be opened no later than 10:00 a.m. on election day.
  2. Closing time fixed. The polls must be closed at 8 p.m. on election day, except in municipalities of population less than 100 which may close the polls after all registered voters have voted. [Title 21-A, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, Article 2, §626]

Links Links to other web sites. These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes.

Constitution
- Constitution of Maine
Election Authority. All States
Legislature. All States
- Maine House of Representatives
- Maine State Legislature
Democratic
- Maine Democratic Party
- Maine Senate Democrats
Republican
- Maine Republican Party
Third Party
Media & others

State and Local Government Outline

Modified .