JAY — Selectpersons voted 4-1 Monday to continue to support Central Maine Power Co.’s proposed electricity transmission corridor from Quebec through Maine to Massachusetts. The move denied petitions to stop the corridor presented to the board by resident Susan Theberge. The petitions have a total of 405 signatures of Jay residents. Of that number, 262 were collected […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Petitioners force recall vote of Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro
WATERVILLE — Municipal officials on Thursday certified that petitioners seeking to oust Republican Mayor Nick Isgro from office had collected enough signatures from residents to force a recall vote, setting up a divisive special election next month. Just two days earlier, the City Council agreed to place a request to recall John O’Donnell, a Democrat […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Move to restrict signature gathering at polls assailed at hearing
AUGUSTA — At polling places across Maine, those gathering signatures for ballot initiatives have often set up a table on the way out to offer voters the opportunity to put their names on required petitions. For supporters, it’s a sign of a thriving democracy. For some, though, it’s a growing hassle. “We’ve come to hate […]
Posted inMaine
Casino petition company complains Horseracing Jobs Fairness owes money
New documents filed with a state ethics panel provide an inside look at a rushed, expensive and ultimately unsuccessful campaign by a developer to get a new casino in southern Maine. The effort was funded with more than $2 million by the sister of Las Vegas casino developer Shawn Scott, who would have had the […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Signature collectors stew over lack of payment
The number of signatures rejected in the casino petition was bad news for the people who helped collect them. In the wake of a failed bid to create a casino in southern Maine, several signature collectors were complaining that they had not been fully paid for their work. John Merchant, who came to Maine to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Voters, petition signers could gain space from video cameras
AUGUSTA — A bill that would make it harder to use video cameras to intimidate voters is winning bipartisan support from Maine lawmakers. The Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Friday voted 11-0 to endorse the bill, which would establish a 15-foot minimum distance between video recorders and voters at the polls. It would […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
York casino backers gamble with thin margin for petition drive
LEWISTON — Backers of an effort to get a York County casino on November’s ballot might not have left themselves much room for error. Nearly half of the 6,568 signatures collected in Lewiston and Auburn have been marked invalid. The casino group delivered petitions containing more than 68,000 signatures to the Maine Secretary of State’s […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Legibility key in vetting petitions for city clerks
LEWISTON — It can take just a few seconds to verify that a signature on a petition is valid, according to Lewiston City Clerk Kathy Montejo, assuming the signer has legible handwriting and hasn’t moved around much. “But you have to take into account that people are signing these things in parking lots, balancing their […]
Posted inMaine
Maine clerks busy verifying referendum petition signatures
PORTLAND — Maine’s town clerks are keeping busy verifying signatures for petitions aimed at getting referendum proposals onto the November ballot. And soon state election officials will kick into high gear, as well, to validate the petitions. The campaigns have until Friday to get signatures delivered to local clerks. Then the petitions must be delivered […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Signature-gathering tactics by bear baiting opponents come under fire
BANGOR — Opponents of a proposed referendum to ban bear trapping and hunting with bait or hounds are accusing proponents of using deceptive means in their quest to gather the 57,277 signatures needed by Feb. 3 to put the question on the November statewide ballot. Members of Facebook pages devoted to defeating the referendum have […]