Here’s How Mainers Feel About November’s Ballot Questions: Pan Atlantic Research Poll

Mainers appear largely divided over the five ballot questions set to go before voters this November, according to a new poll from Pan Atlantic Research — a Portland-based independent marketing research and consulting firm.

Out of these five questions, Mainers appear most likely support Question 1, a law proposed via the citizens initiative process that would limit contributions to independent expenditure-only PACs — commonly referred to as Super PACS — to $5,000.

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, however, cannot donate directly to candidates but are currently eligible to receive unlimited contributions from their donors.

Under the proposed legislation, however, 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 as well.

If approved, this would present a challenge to the current structure of PAC limitations, as well as to existing legal precedent.

Both Equal Citizens — a nonprofit that played an active role in helping to raise funds in support of gathering the signatures needed to put this issue on the ballot — and Citizens to End SuperPACs — the ballot question committee (BQC) responsible for the petition — have indicated that they anticipate this law would spark legal challenges that will ultimately bring the issue before the Supreme Court.

Pan Atlantic Research revealed this month that 69 percent of Mainers plan to vote in support of this measure, including 78 percent of Democrats and Independents, as well as 57 percent of Republicans.

Questions 2-4 represent bond issues that need voter approval in order to move forward. For all three of these questions, just over half of respondents — between 51 and 55 percent — indicated that they would vote in favor of these measures if the election were held today.

Stemming from a law approved by legislators in April, Question 2 asks voters if they would like to approve a $25 million bond to provide funding to the Maine Technology Institute for innovation-related efforts.

This money would be used for “research and development and commercialization as prioritized by the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board’s most recent innovation economy action plan and the Office of Innovation’s most recent science and technology action plan.”

These funds must be awarded by the Maine Technology Institute through a competitive process to Maine-based public and private institutions “to leverage matching private and federal funds on at least a one-to-one basis.”

Fifty-two percent of Mainers said they intend to support this measure, including 67 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents, and 38 percent of Republicans.

If approved, the bond in Question 3 would give the Maine Historic Preservation Commission $10 million to spend on restoring historic buildings owned by governmental and nonprofit organizations.

Award of these funds by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission would need to be contingent on a 25 percent local match by each recipient.

This appears to be the most popular of the three bond questions, with 55 percent of Mainers saying that they intend to vote in support of it, including 64 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of Independents, and 50 percent of Republicans.

Should voters approve Question 4 this November, $30 million would be made available to establish the Maine Trails Program in order to leverage at least $3 million in matching public and private contributions for the “design, development, and maintenance of nonmotorized, motorized, and multi-use trails statewide.”

The Bureau of Parks and Lands would be restricted to $7.5 million spending annually, and after the first year, any remaining unspent balance may be added to the total for subsequent years.

These funds would be awarded through a competitive grant process to municipalities, executive branch departments and agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

Fifty-one percent of Mainers indicated in the Pan Atlantic Research poll that they would vote in support of this bond, including 57 percent of Democrats, 49 percent of Independents and 47 percent of Republicans.

Question 5 asks voters if they would like to replace the current state flag with an early 20th century design commonly referred to as the Pine Tree Flag.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows held a design contest this past summer to solicit options for the specific model flag upon which voters will be deciding this November. Although a design has now been chosen, an image will not be included on the ballot.

The official description of this design — as included in a bill signed into law earlier this year — reads: “buff, charged with the emblem of the State, a pine tree proper, in the center, and the North Star, a mullet of 5 points, in blue in the upper corner; the star to be equidistant from the hoist and the upper border of the flag, the distance from the 2 borders to the center of the star being equal to about 1/4 of the hoist, this distance and the size of the star being proportionate to the size of the flag.”

[RELATED: Official Design Revealed for Proposed Replacement of Maine State Flag]

Based on the results of this poll, Mainers are split relatively evenly on this question, with 40 percent supporting the measure and 40 percent opposing it. 20 percent of respondents remain undecided.

There is also relatively little partisan division on this question, garnering support from 44 percent of Democrats, 37 percent of Independents, and 40 percent of Republicans.

Click Here to Read the Full Poll Results

This poll was conducted September 5 and September 15 with a selected sample of 875 Mainers. Responses were only included from those who indicated that they were “likely,” “very likely,” or “certain” to vote in the upcoming election.

The results represent 812 likely voters and have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.

Due to the rounding of decimals, not all figures reported by the organization equal an even hundred percent.

For More Information from the Maine Wire on These Ballot Questions: These Five Questions Will Be On the Ballot in Maine This November