LEWISTON — A group has dropped its petition to move the city’s municipal elections from November to June and instead wants to make the change in the City Charter through a new charter commission.
Organizer Luke Jensen said the group realized a couple of months ago that it could not get enough petition signatures by the March 16 deadline, “so we kind of put it on hold.”
The group originally thought it needed about 800 signatures, Jensen said, but city officials and the Secretary of State’s Office determined it needed closer to 2,700 because it was seeking to change the city charter rather than a city ordinance.
Supporters want to move Lewiston’s municipal elections to June largely to discourage Bates College students from voting. Bates students typically leave campus in May and return when classes start again in August.
Jensen was one of several mayoral candidates last November and began the petition drive soon after the election, saying Bates students influence city elections. All Bates students vote in Lewiston Wards 1 and 3. In November, those two wards showed the greatest support for the only liberal mayoral candidate.
He said moving the election day would also make voting easier for retirees who spend the winter out of state.
Supporters now want to change the city charter through a new charter commission. Jensen said that will give citizens the chance to make other changes as well.
He plans to ask the mayor and City Council to discuss forming a commission.
“If it comes down to it, we will start the petition to form a charter commission,” Jensen said. “We’re under the impression it will only take about 800 signatures.”
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