Public comment is now being accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office on the proposed ballot question wording for a citizens initiative that is set to go before Maine voters this November.
Validated by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in February, the law proposed by the initiative aims to change campaign finance law in the state by limiting the value of donations made to qualifying political action committees (PACs).
As it is currently drafted, the ballot question to be presented to Mainers in November reads:
“Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to groups that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office?”
According to the proposed legislation, contributions made by both individuals and businesses to PACs “for the purpose of making independent expenditures” would be limited to a total of $5,000 per calendar year.
Maine state law currently defines an “independent expenditure” as any communication expense — such as for advertisements or phone banks — that clearly advocates for or against a particular candidate but is “not made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate’s authorized political committee or an agent of either.”
This limit would be adjusted for inflation every two years beginning on December 1, 2024 and rounded to the nearest amount divisible by $25.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of the Proposed Legislation
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recognizes several types of PACs — each of which are subjected to a unique set of rules — including two categories particularly relevant to this citizens’ initiative: traditional PACs and Super PACs.
While traditional PACs can make contributions to political candidates in addition to making independent expenditures, they are already limited to receiving no more than $5,000 a year from any single donor.
Super PACs — more formally known as independent expenditure-only PACs — cannot donate directly to candidates but are eligible to receive unlimited contributions from their donors.
If the initiative currently under consideration in Maine were to be approved, however, it would present a challenge to this structure, as well as to existing legal precedent.
[RELATED: A Closer Look at the Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Contributions in Maine]
Super PACs first came about in 2010 in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC in which the Justices decided that placing limitations on “independent political spending” by both individuals and corporations violated the First Amendment, arguing that these expenditures did not present a sufficient enough threat of corruption warrant government intervention.
With the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ subsequent decision in the case of SpeechNow v. FEC, it was determined that placing any limitations on donations to PACs making only independent expenditures was unconstitutional under the First Amendment, thus paving the way for the creation of Super PACs.
Because restrictions are currently in place for contributions to traditional PACs, the law proposed in Maine would primarily impact Super PACs and their ability to receive contributions of an unlimited size from their donors.
The petition for this citizens initiative was first circulated on October 27, 2023, and by January 23, 2024, 11,313 petition forms with 84,025 signatures were submitted to the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions (CEC), of which 76,081 were determined to be valid.
[RELATED: Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Spending Validated by Maine Secretary of State]
The effort to advance this proposal was spearheaded by Harvard Law Professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig.
Equal Citizens — the non-profit founded by Lessig — played an active role in helping to raise funds in support of gathering the signatures needed to put this issue in front of Mainers.
Both Equal Citizens and Maine Citizens to End Super PACs — the ballot question committee (BQC) responsible for the petition — have indicated that they anticipate this law, if approved, will spark legal challenges that will ultimately bring the issue before the Supreme Court.
On their Frequently Asked Questions page, the BQC posed the hypothetical question of “What is the rationale for the formation of Citizens to End SuperPACs?” to which they responded: “Because we want to end SuperPACS – and we believe the United States Supreme Court will agree!”
Going into more depth on the topic of potential legal challenges is Equal Citizens.
“When Maine passes its anti-SuperPAC initiative in November 2024,” the group writes, “the law will be challenged (and most likely stayed from enforcement during the litigation).”
“The First Circuit has not yet ruled on whether SpeechNow is correct,” Equal Citizens continues. “It will, therefore, have a chance to consider the matter without the burden of prior precedent. If Maine prevails in the First Circuit, then the United States Supreme Court will certainly take the case up.”
“And if things move quickly, then by July 2026 — the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — the Supreme Court will either declare us free of SuperPACs or give us yet another reason for a (peaceful) revolution in constitutional law (through amendments! See the great work of American Promise),” they conclude.
Equal Citizens has been involved in similar efforts before, introducing bills in an attempt to get the courts to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s SpeechNow ruling in Alaska in 2018 and again in Massachusetts in 2022.
According to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office, public comment on the wording of the ballot question will be accepted through several channels, including an online submission form, email, mail, and in person.
The online submission form for public comment can be found here.
Comments regarding question-wording can be emailed to [email protected] with the subject line “Public Comment – Limit Contributions.”
Mailed comments can be addressed to Secretary of State, Attn: Public Comment, 148 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0148.
Written comments can be dropped off at Office of the Secretary of State at the Nash School Building, 103 Sewall St., 2nd floor, Augusta, Maine.
As required by state law, the Secretary of State must present legislation proposed by a citizens initiative petition “in a clear, concise and direct manner that describes the subject matter… as simply as possible.”
Public comments regarding the question’s form and content will be accepted for a 30-day period, opening on Tuesday, April 30 and closing at 5pm on Thursday, May 30.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, “all comments will be reviewed and considered before the ballot question is finalized.”
Click Here to Read the Full Press Release from the Secretary of State’s Office
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="27639 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=27639">5 Comments
I’m not a weasel so I won’t pretend that I fully understand the finites of this bill but rest assured if it comes from Bellows it rotten and should be flushed along with her/it/thing or whatever..
Is this the ballot question that resulted from the group that said they were trying to keep foreign money out our state?
This ballot question doesn’t distinguish domestic and foreign.
This would seem to be a violation of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision which means it would be struck down by the courts the first time someone challenged it.
“As required by state law, the Secretary of State must present legislation proposed by a citizens initiative petition “in a clear, concise and direct manner that describes the subject matter… as simply as possible.”
Perhaps the State of Maine would do well to appoint a replacement for our present Secretary of State.
Shenna Bellows as well as Jared Golden are bought and paid for by the George Soros family.